Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told reporters he accepted President Joe Biden’s invitation and will attend debt ceiling negotiations at the White House next week.
Last week, House Republicans passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act with no Democrat support. This legislation would lift the debt ceiling through early next year while saving the government an estimated $4.8 trillion over the next ten years.
After months of refusing to negotiate with House Republicans, Biden caved and invited Democrat and Republican Congressional leaders to sit down with him to negotiate on May 9.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday the United States could default as soon as June 1.
“I’ll be there,” McConnell told reporters as he confirmed he received a call from Biden.
President Joe Biden shakes hands with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell during an event about the bipartisan infrastructure law in front of the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge in Covington, Kentucky, on January 4, 2023. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
McConnell recognized that “many people” did not expect House Republicans to unify and pass debt ceiling legislation.
“But let’s be perfectly clear about where we are. The House has passed a bill which raises the debt ceiling and outlines House Republican priorities. Many people thought that wouldn’t happen. It has,” McConnell continued.
“The message to the president at this point is also pretty clear. You got a choice between accepting the House bill or entering into a discussion, which the Speaker has been trying to have with the president for some time, for an agreement between the two of them,” he added.
McConnell also urged Biden to reach a deal with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, during a Bloomberg Television interview on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Thursday, April 27, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“In this situation, and I’ve been through a few of these debt-ceiling dramas, there is no solution in the Senate. We have a divided government. The American people gave the Republicans the House, the Democrats have the presidency,” McConnell said. “The president and the Speaker need to reach an agreement to get us past this impasse.”
“That’s my message going down to the White House meeting. It will be my message in the White House meeting, and I think that’s clearly the way we get to a solution,” he said.
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.
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