Biden's Budget Missed the Legal Deadline. Jean-Pierre: 'The President Has Made a Promise' (February 2, 2023)

A reporter put it plainly at the White House briefing on Feb. 2, 2023: “The law says that the President’s budget is due on the first Monday in February. Joe Biden is not the first President to be late, but he is going to be late.”

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre blamed Congress for running late on the last spending bill, then repeated the White House’s date. “The President has made a promise that he’s going to have his budget on March 9th,” she said. “That’s what we’re going to do” [1].

The video above shows the exchange. Quotes are from the official transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1].

”Is That the Reason?”

The reporter laid out the calendar. “And it’s now five weeks from today that you’ve said the budget will come out. Can you explain why it is — it is delayed? I think you were asked this last week, and there was a suggestion that it might have something to do with the omnibus. But is there — is that the reason? Is there another reason?” [1]

“Yeah, and I basically said the omnibus happened so late in the — as you know, in the last session, which caused us to, you know, be a little bit later with — with the President’s budget. So that did — there’s definitely a correlation there,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

Then she turned it back on the House majority: “And we want to see what the — what the House Republicans are going to put forward” [1].

The omnibus she pointed to was the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which Biden signed on Dec. 29, 2022 [4]. HYGO News covered the fight over that 4,155-page bill in its page on Sen. Rand Paul’s floor protest.

”The President Proposes, the Congress Disposes”

The question right before it went to the heart of the White House’s argument that Republicans should show their plan first. “Almost 50 years ago, as a senator, Joe Biden voted for a framework, or a timeline, that has the President proposing a budget first and then Congress disposing of that budget,” the reporter said. “Why is it the argument here that the Republicans should put forward their budget first? Isn’t — isn’t it ‘The President proposes, the Congress disposes’?” [1]

“No, actually — actually, that’s not what we said. We’re going to put out our budget on March 9th, and we’re asking Republicans to do the same,” Jean-Pierre answered [1].

She then accused Republicans of wanting to cut Social Security and Medicare and asked: “But we haven’t — but what — where’s the plan? Like, what is it that they’re going to lay out to show us exactly — not just to us, but to the American people?” [1]

The day before, she had made the same demand. “As you saw from our memo yesterday, the President is going to have his budget on March 9th. He is calling and asking — right? — the Speaker to put forward his budget as well,” she said [2].

What the Law Says

The deadline is in federal law. “On or after the first Monday in January but not later than the first Monday in February of each year, the President shall submit a budget of the United States Government for the following fiscal year,” the statute reads [3]. In 2023, the first Monday in February fell on Feb. 6. The budget came out on March 9, 31 days later [3][5].

”Lay It Down”

Biden rolled out the plan at a union hall in Philadelphia, in the swing state Reuters said he chose “to reveal his playbook for an expected 2024 reelection bid” [6]. The budget called for $6.8 trillion in federal spending in the year starting that October, up from the $6.2 trillion spent in fiscal 2022 [6].

It came with tax hikes. Reuters reported that it would impose a 25% minimum tax on billionaires, double the capital gains tax rate from 20%, quadruple a 1% tax on stock buybacks and raise taxes on people earning more than $400,000 a year [6]. On corporations, Biden said: “And it used to be 35 percent. And we cut it down to 21 percent. I think we should be paying 28 percent” [5].

He also issued a challenge. “I want to make it clear I’m ready to meet with the speaker anytime, tomorrow if he has his budget. Lay it down, tell me what you want to do. I’ll show you what I want to do, see what we can agree on,” he said [6].

Republicans tore into it. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other Republicans called it “a reckless proposal,” Reuters reported [6]. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, went further. “The sad truth: The socialists are in charge of the White House,” he tweeted. “Joe Biden certainly isn’t!” On Fox News, he said the budget “would create a $50 trillion national debt” [7].

”$240,000 per Household”

Another reporter turned to the national debt, which had climbed since the 2011 debt-limit fight. “But the other difference is that the national debt has more than doubled in that time. It now is about $240,000 per household. Does the President believe that that is sustainable?” [1]

“Well, let’s — let’s remember why we have seen that the last couple of years, right? I mean, we’ve seen that the — it balloon in the way that you just spoke to,” Jean-Pierre said, before blaming Republicans [1].

“So will this administration pledge to be deficit neutral this year?” the reporter asked. “Look, what I can say is the President is committed to dealing with lowering the deficit,” Jean-Pierre answered, without making that pledge [1].

By the Numbers

Feb. 6, 2023: the legal deadline for the budget, the first Monday in February [3].
$240,000: the national debt per household, as a reporter put it [1].
31 days: how late the March 9 budget was [3][5].
$6.8 trillion: the spending Biden proposed for fiscal 2024 [6].
25%: the minimum tax he proposed for billionaires [6].
28%: the corporate tax rate he wanted, up from 21% [5].
217-215: the House vote passing the Republicans’ answer, the Limit, Save, Grow Act [8].

What Happened Next

Republicans laid it down. On April 26, 2023, the House passed McCarthy’s Limit, Save, Grow Act, 217-215 [8]. The fight over spending and the debt limit ended in a deal: Biden signed the Fiscal Responsibility Act on June 3, 2023, which suspended the debt limit through Jan. 1, 2025 [9], as HYGO News reported in its page on the debt-limit talks.

Late again. The next year’s budget, for fiscal 2025, came out on March 11, 2024, again after the first Monday in February [10].

The Trump tax cuts were made permanent. President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill on July 4, 2025. “In this act, we have officially made the Trump tax cuts permanent,” he said [11].

More of Jean-Pierre’s answers checked against the record are on HYGO News’ Karine Jean-Pierre record page.