Biden slams conservative Republicans spending demands amid debt ceiling debate

Rebecca Morin, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden slapped back at a set of demands issued by conservative House Republicans that would slash several of the president’s key economic and climate initiatives amid the debt ceiling fight.

The House Freedom Caucus announced Friday that they would consider raising the debt ceiling if legislation is passed to roll back several of Biden’s key economic priorities, including the $80 billion expansion of the IRS, $400 billion in student loan debt transfer and funding for climate change spending that is part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

“We just have a very different value set,” Biden said of the announcement Friday at the White House.

With a now divided Congress, raising the debt ceiling has become Biden’s first major fight on Capitol Hill.

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The development on the debt ceiling comes a day after Biden released his nearly $6.9 trillion budget proposal, which revives plans to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans and corporations and to expand the government's social safety net and transform the economy. The proposal will not likely pass the Republican-controlled House.

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When asked Friday whether the president is open to negotiating any of the Freedom Caucus’s demands, the president said “I don’t know if there’s much to negotiate on.”

“Their entire program does not lower the deficit one single penny,” Biden said.

Biden said that he is willing to sit down with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as soon as the GOP lays out their budget. The president, however, expressed frustration over when the GOP budget will be presented, saying “why all of a sudden can't they get it done in March or maybe even April.”

Reach Rebecca Morin at Twitter @RebeccaMorin_

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Debt ceiling: Biden slaps back at House conservative spending demands