Scalise: Biden Took 97 Days To Meet — We Already Have The Votes, Only Body Acting In This Town

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) used a May 2023 floor speech to attack Democrats and Biden over the May 2023 debt ceiling impasse, citing the 97-day gap between House Republican passage of the Limit, Save, Grow Act and Biden’s willingness to negotiate. Scalise: “Call the White House and ask the President why he took 97 days off after the first meeting with Speaker McCarthy when the speaker was ready to negotiate. We’re still here. We have done our job. We have acted. We are in fact the only body in this town who has actually taken steps to address the debt ceiling and the spending problem in Washington.” He noted Senate Democrats had taken the week off.

The 97 Days Reference

Scalise framing: Biden took 97 days off after first McCarthy meeting.
Editorial reach: The figure became central to Republican messaging.
Hearing record: The figure is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The figure remained central to Republican messaging.
Long arc: The figure fed broader debates.

The Buyers Remorse Framing

Scalise framing: Democrats are “having buyers remorse.”
Editorial reach: The framing dramatized Democratic regret.
Hearing record: The framing is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The framing fed broader debates.
Long arc: The framing remained central to messaging.

The Voters Remorse Framing

Scalise framing: “Voters remorse.”
Editorial reach: The framing positioned Democratic vote as regrettable.
Hearing record: The framing is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The framing fed broader debates.
Long arc: The framing remained central to messaging.

The Voted Against Framing

Scalise framing: “Every single one of them voted against addressing the debt ceiling.”
Editorial reach: The framing emphasized partisan unity.
Hearing record: The framing is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The framing fed broader debates.
Long arc: The framing remained central to messaging.

The Senate Empty Reference

Scalise framing: “Frankly there’s no one there.”
Editorial reach: The framing dramatized Senate inactivity.
Hearing record: The framing is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The framing fed Republican messaging.
Long arc: The framing remained central to coverage.

The Out This Whole Week

Scalise framing: Senate Democrats “chose to be out this whole week.”
Editorial reach: The framing dramatized Senate inactivity.
Hearing record: The framing is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The framing fed Republican messaging.
Long arc: The framing remained central to coverage.

The Only Body Framing

Scalise framing: “We are in fact the only body in this town who has actually taken steps.”
Editorial reach: The framing positioned House action.
Hearing record: The framing is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The framing fed Republican messaging.
Long arc: The framing remained central to coverage.

The Done Our Job Framing

Scalise framing: “We have done our job. We have acted.”
Editorial reach: The framing positioned House activity.
Hearing record: The framing is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The framing fed Republican messaging.
Long arc: The framing remained central to coverage.

The Limit Save Grow Act

House passage: House Republicans passed the bill in April 2023.
Spending caps: The bill imposed discretionary spending caps.
Energy provisions: The bill rolled back IRA energy provisions.
Work requirements: The bill imposed Medicaid and SNAP work requirements.
Editorial reach: The bill represented the Republican opening position in negotiations.

The Speaker Ready Framing

Scalise framing: “Speaker was ready to negotiate.”
Editorial reach: The framing positioned McCarthy as engaged.
Hearing record: The framing is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The framing fed Republican messaging.
Long arc: The framing remained central to coverage.

The Encourage Senate Take Up

Scalise framing: “Encourage the Senate to take up the bill.”
Editorial reach: The framing positioned Senate as obstructionist.
Hearing record: The framing is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The framing fed Republican messaging.
Long arc: The framing remained central to coverage.

The Spending Problem Framing

Scalise framing: “The debt ceiling and the spending problem.”
Editorial reach: The framing tied ceiling to spending.
Hearing record: The framing is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The framing remained central to Republican messaging.
Long arc: The framing fed broader debates.

The Scalise Public Posture

House Majority Leader: Scalise held the No. 2 House Republican role.
Editorial reach: Scalise’s role gave the speech weight.
Hearing record: Scalise’s role is now in the formal record.
Long arc: Scalise continued to be central through 2024.
Long arc: Scalise shaped subsequent debates.

The May 2023 Debt Ceiling Standoff

X-date approach: Treasury had warned of an X-date as early as June 1.
Republican posture: House Republicans had passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act in April.
White House posture: The White House had pivoted to negotiation in early May.
Eventual deal: A deal eventually included two-year discretionary caps.
Editorial reach: The standoff was the dominant economic story of spring 2023.

The Eventual Deal

Fiscal Responsibility Act: The June 2023 deal was the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
Two-year caps: The deal imposed two-year discretionary spending caps.
Work requirements: The deal included expanded SNAP work requirements.
Energy permitting: The deal included some energy permitting reforms.
Editorial reach: The deal averted default and stabilized the ceiling through 2025.

The McCarthy Posture

Speaker role: Kevin McCarthy led House Republican negotiations in 2023.
Editorial reach: McCarthy’s role mirrored Boehner’s 2011 role.
Bill passage: McCarthy held the conference together for Limit, Save, Grow passage.
Long arc: McCarthy was later removed as Speaker in October 2023.
Hearing record: The McCarthy role sits in the formal record.

The Republican Strategy

Spending caps demand: Republicans demanded spending caps as ceiling condition.
Limit, Save, Grow Act: House Republicans passed the bill in April 2023.
Public-facing posture: The strategy was designed for clip distribution.
Long arc: The strategy remained central to Republican messaging.
Hearing impact: The strategy placed the spending demand on the formal record.

The Public Communication Layer

Soundbite design: The exchange was structured for clip distribution.
Documentary value: The hearing record now contains a clean Republican framing.
Media uptake: The clip moved on conservative media as a Republican response argument.
Audience targeting: Scalise’s style is built for retail political distribution.
Long arc: The framing remained central to Republican messaging through 2024.

The Democratic Response

Crisis denial: Democrats rejected the manufactured crisis framing.
Spending demand: Democrats accepted spending caps as part of the eventual deal.
Editorial reach: Democrats framed the standoff as Republican-driven.
Hearing posture: Democratic senators offered alternative framings.
Long arc: The Democratic response shaped subsequent messaging.

The 2024 Implications

Election positioning: Both parties used the standoff for 2024 positioning.
Fiscal politics: Fiscal politics shape Senate and presidential races.
Long arc: The episode will shape debt ceiling politics through 2024 and beyond.
Hearing legacy: The hearing record will be cited in future debt ceiling debates.
Long arc: The standoff outcome stabilized the ceiling through 2025.

Key Takeaways

Scalise gave May 2023 floor speech attacking Democrats over debt ceiling.
Scalise cited 97 days between McCarthy meeting and Biden negotiation.
Scalise framed Democrats as “buyers remorse.”
Scalise noted Senate Democrats took the week off.
Scalise framed House as “only body” acting.
The exchange dramatized Republican messaging.

Transcript Highlights

The following quotations are drawn from an AI-generated Whisper transcript of the floor speech and should be considered unverified pending official transcript release.

“My colleagues on the other side are having buyers remorse or should I say voters remorse” — Scalise
“Every single one of them voted against addressing the debt ceiling over a month ago” — Scalise
“Frankly there’s no one there. They should get on the phone and call the Democrat senators who run the Senate and chose to be out this whole week” — Scalise
“Call the White House and ask the President why he took 97 days off after the first meeting with Speaker McCarthy” — Scalise
“We have done our job. We have acted. We are in fact the only body in this town who has actually taken steps” — Scalise
“I would encourage the Senate to take up the bill. I would encourage the President” — Scalise

Full transcript: 185 words transcribed via Whisper AI.