'There's Only One Step Here': Jean-Pierre on the Debt Limit Before Biden Met McCarthy, and a '$1.7 Billion' Deficit Cut (February 1, 2023)

Shortly before President Joe Biden met with Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a reporter tried to pin down the White House’s plan on the debt limit. “So would that mean that any bipartisan proposal that the President agreed to as it relates to deficit reduction or debt reduction would have to happen after Congress raised the debt limit?” the reporter asked. “Like, what’s step one and what’s step two?” [1]

“I don’t think there’s just one step. And the step is they need to live up to their congressional obligation,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “So, there’s only one step here, and the one step is to do this without conditions.” [1]

“But the President has said, and you have said from this podium, that he is open to these negotiations and potential legislation — right? — on deficit and debt. Right?” the reporter asked [1].

The video above shows the Feb. 1, 2023, briefing. Quotes are from the official transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1].

”$1.7 Billion”

Jean-Pierre answered by touting Biden’s record on the deficit, and got the number wrong. “We mentioned the $1.7 billion that he was able to lower the deficit and because of the economic policies that he’s moved for- — moved forward with,” she said [1].

She had done it once before in the same briefing. Asked what Biden hoped to get from McCarthy, she said: “How are we going to deal with the national deficit, which is something that the President has taken very seriously by — in record — in record fashion, lowering the deficit by $1.7 billion? He wants to talk about that.” [1]

Later she gave the White House’s actual figure. “In record fashion, $1.7 trillion, which is the largest decline in American history,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

”The Number 78”

She leaned on history. “And I’ve mentioned the number 78 many times, because it’s happened 78 times since 1960s — 49 times under a Republican president and 29 times under a Democratic president. This is something that the Speaker himself voted on three times in the last administration,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

”Off-the-Wall Commitments”

A reporter asked about Biden’s words the night before. “And the President did have some choice words for the Speaker last night ahead of this meeting. He says he’s made off-the-wall commitments to the far right. Was there any strategy in saying that ahead of this meeting?” [1]

“Well, I will say this: Like, we understand what the Speaker is going through. He has a caucus that — you know, that has put forward some pretty extreme ideas, some extreme options in front of the American people: cutting Medicare, cutting Social Security,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

Another reporter asked plainly: “Does the President see the current rate of spending at the federal level as a problem? And if so, what spending cuts would he support?” Jean-Pierre pointed back to the deficit: “cutting the deficit by $1.7 trillion” [1].

”Go to the Sticks”

Reporters also asked why the meeting was closed to the press. “Can you explain the decision not to offer the public visibility on this meeting? It’s — it’s tradition for the press to be brought in when the President speaks to the Speaker of the House,” a reporter said [1].

“Not — look, not all the time. The President has had many conversations — one-on-one conversations — with members of Congress,” Jean-Pierre said. “You know, Speaker — Speaker McCarthy is welcome to go to the sticks after the meeting and take your questions.” [1]

“He Said He Would Take That Off the Table”

A reporter noted that McCarthy had ruled out cuts to the two programs. “The House Speaker, on Sunday, on ‘Face the Nation,’ was asked if he was going to propose cuts to Medicare and Social Security, and he said no. He said he would take that off the table,” the reporter said. “So is it your sense — is it the sense here that the House Speaker is not being honest when he says that?” [1]

“I think it’s more of, like, there are some facts out there — right? — that we can easily point to,” Jean-Pierre said, before reading headlines from news outlets about House Republicans [1].

”Barrel Toward Abruptly and Immediately Ending Title 42”

A reporter asked about the border. “And with the public health emergency, just to be clear: Is it the administration’s plan to lift Title 42 on May 11th, when the public health emergency underpinning it is lifted?” [1]

“The CDC said in April that the Title 42 should lift, but the courts have, as you all know, required us to keep it in place,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

“Even if you lift the emergency, if the court order hasn’t been lifted, you’re going to keep 42 in place?” the reporter asked [1].

“So, what past Republicans were trying to do is they were trying to really barrel toward abruptly and immediately ending Title 42,” Jean-Pierre answered. “And what they wanted to do was to end something overnight, which would have created chaos.” [1]

That week, House Republicans voted to end the emergencies at once. For their vote, see HYGO News’ page on Jan. 31, 2023.

By the Numbers

$1.7 billion: the deficit cut Jean-Pierre twice credited to Biden [1].
$1.7 trillion: the figure she gave later in the briefing [1].
78: times she said the debt limit had been raised since the 1960s [1].
$1.70 trillion: the deficit in fiscal 2023, up from $1.38 trillion in fiscal 2022 [2].

What Happened Next

The deficit went back up. Treasury’s year-end figures show the federal deficit was $2.78 trillion in fiscal 2021 and $1.38 trillion in fiscal 2022, then rose to $1.70 trillion in fiscal 2023 [2].

Biden negotiated after all. On May 27, 2023, Biden announced: “Earlier this evening Speaker McCarthy and I reached a budget agreement in principle. It is an important step forward that reduces spending while protecting critical programs for working people and growing the economy for everyone.” [3]

For the “not going to negotiate” line two weeks earlier, see HYGO News’ page on Jan. 18, 2023. For the next day’s budget-deadline exchange, see the page on Feb. 2, 2023.