Q: if position hasn’t changed, why hold this meeting? if not willing to negotiate, what is this meeting?
Reporter: On the debt ceiling, can you just walk us through the decision by the President to reach out to the leaders and hold this meeting now? And you’ve made it very clear that his position hasn’t changed. So what changed his mind to now hold this meeting?

KJP: … we’ve been very clear and also criticizing their budget, as I did at the top here. But now — now there’s a — now, after a couple of days, the President reached out and — after analyzing what they put forth, and we’re going to have — the President is going to have a meeting with them next week.

Reporter: But if he’s not willing to negotiate, what is this meeting? Like, what is he coming to the table with? And does he see this as a conversation that’s only about the debt ceiling and then there’s a separate meeting later that’s about the budget?

KJP: The President — well, I —
Reporter: Or when Kevin McCarthy comes and wants to talk about all of it, how — what are the mechanics of this meeting?
KJP: I mean — I —
Reporter: And can you do those two things at the same time —
KJP: Well —
Reporter: — over the coming weeks?
KJP: Sorry, I was —
Reporter: Sorry.
KJP: — trying to wait to see where the question was going to end. (Laughs.)
Reporter: (Inaudible.)
KJP: I apologize. My bad.
Reporter: Yeah.

KJP: separate conversation on May 9 Q: separate conversation on May 9th at the same time?
KJP: Look, he’s going to be — he’s going to make it very clear, in this meeting that they’re going to have next week, how it is Congress’s constitutional duty to act. He is not going to negotiate on the debt ceiling. Been very clear. That is not going to change. Now, we — I have said, as I said from the top here, that he’s willing to have a separate conversation about their spending …

Reporter: And I don’t mean to, like, belabor, but when you say a “separate conversation,” is that, again, only after the debt ceiling is raised? Or is he going to have that separate conversation on May 9th at the same time, when they’re all sitting at that table together next week?

KJP: So, look, the President’s going to make it clear to them how it is not that they have to avoid a default; it is their constitutional duty for Congress to do this. It is their constitutional duty …

Q: playing chicken” analogy Biden might not have a choice A: question is for Congress
Reporter: Still on the debt ceiling, if I can just zoom out. Ultimately, what is the President’s priority? Is it to avoid this thing of linking debt ceilings from — from now forever to budget negotiations, which he doesn’t want? Or is it to avoid a debt default? Because I know — I know he wants both things, but what’s his ultimate priority? Because it — like in the game of chicken, at some point, yeah, you can wait for the car, you can wait for the car, but you might have to jump out the way.

KJP: So, look — and I said this earlier — the President thought it would be a good opportunity to remind congressional leaders of the urgency of preventing default when the letter — when Secretary Yellen’s letter came out. So that is incredibly important. We cannot default as a country. We cannot …

Reporter: Okay. But the “playing chicken” analogy, you know, he — he might not have a choice to think about this too much at some point. You know, if the — if the proverbial car is like, you know, about a couple of inches away, he’s got to dive out the way. Does that mean he accepts what they say and avoids default, if it comes down to that?

KJP: The question is for Congress. It really is. What has changed?

Karine Jean-Pierre Says She’s “Not Gonna Get Into Specifics” On How Biden Will Move Forward On Debt
Reporter: Thanks, Karine. Two quick follow-ups, and then one more. You explicitly said that given the urgency of the moment and the timeline, in terms of the debt limit, that suspension of the debt limit was what needed to be pursued. Is it the view of the White House right now that suspension is really the only viable option, not raising by a particular number?

KJP: I’m not going to get into specifics. I — I — I hear you, Phil. What I’m going to say is we’ve been very clear: It needs to be done without condition. This is their constitutional duty to deal with the debt limit …

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Q: debt ceiling position hasn’t changed? May 9th separate conversation? play chicken analogy Biden no choice