WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden said on Friday that “we’re going to have a discussion” with House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy about the U.S. debt ceiling.
At an event with city mayors, Biden said a U.S. debt default would be a calamity unlike anything ever seen in the United States financially.
“The debt we’re paying on, and we’re gonna have a little discussion about that with the new majority leader of the House, has accumulated over 200 years,” Biden said, not naming McCarthy by name.
He did not provide details on when he might talk to McCarthy, who wants to tie a vote to raise the debt ceiling to government spending cuts.
The White House has said it will not negotiate with Republicans about raising the debt ceiling.
McCarthy said in a tweet addressed to Biden that he “accepted your invitation to sit down and discuss a responsible debt ceiling increase to address irresponsible government spending.”
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier on Friday that she did “not have anything to confirm” about a meeting with McCarthy. Biden is hosting Democratic congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason, Steve Holland and Eric Beech; Editing by Franklin Paul)
