Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who is up for reelection in a red state, slammed President Joe Biden’s “deficiency of leadership” while praising House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for proposing a debt ceiling plan.
“Our elected leaders must stop with the political games, work together and negotiate a compromise. Instead, it has been more than 78 days since President Biden last met with Speaker McCarthy,” Manchin said in a statement. “This signals a deficiency of leadership, and it must change.”
This comes as Biden refuses to meet with McCarthy about the debt ceiling. McCarthy and the Republican leadership on Wednesday unveiled the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023, which is legislation that would raise the debt ceiling while tackling America’s national deficit. The GOP’s proposal would raise the debt limit by $1.5 trillion and cut federal spending by $130 billion over the next year.
Manchin noted that it is “reasonable” for the two to disagree on how to approach the debt ceiling, but if Biden continues not to negotiate with the Republicans, it will eventually bring the United States to default, which will cause an “economic whirlwind.”
“I applaud Speaker McCarthy for putting forward a proposal that would prevent default and rein in federal spending,” Manchin added. “While I do not agree with everything proposed, the fact of the matter is that it is the only bill actually moving through Congress that would prevent default.”
The West Virginia Democrat also called on the president to negotiate with the Republicans and propose his own plan “for the sake of the country.”
Not wanting to comment on what Manchin said during the press conference on Thursday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) dismissed the Republican’s “extreme” proposal by saying he wants to see the proposal written down before he’s willing to come to the table and talk about the debt ceiling.
“Of course, we remain willing to have a conversation about what future spending and investments in the health, safety, and economic wellbeing of the American people should be,” Jeffries told reporters. “It’s unclear to me why we are still waiting for Republicans to actually put their budget in the public domain… Once they have a budget, I think we’re all willing to sit down and have a conversation.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) also responded to the House Republicans’ proposal on Thursday by dismissing it as a “MAGA wish list” that “has no chance of moving forward in the Senate.”
Speaker McCarthy’s partisan wish list shows how unprepared the GOP is to resolve the default crisis they’re creating
This MAGA wish list would decimate everything from nutrition programs to funding for mental health and childcare
It has no chance of moving forward in the Senate
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) April 20, 2023
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.
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