Monday, on FNC’s “Hannity,” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich applauded the approach House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was taking in dealing with President Joe Biden and the debt ceiling negotiations.
Gingrich encouraged McCarthy to stay the course and said if the U.S. government defaulted on its debt, it would fall on Biden and end his 2024 reelection bid.
“In my new book, ‘March to the Majority,’ I outline how we did it, and Kevin is following the same game plan — pass the bill, stand firm, be reasonable, but don’t back up. I think if you look at today’s meeting, you look at what has been happening, inch by inch gradually, the Biden team has come to recognize if there is a default, it is going to go down in history as the Biden default. It is going to end his presidential campaign for 2024, and it is unacceptable,” he said. “So he is going to have to get somewhere.”
“Kevin McCarthy, the speaker, has done a great job so far of setting a series of setting goals that the conservatives really want and are refusing to back off the core of those goals,” Gingrich continued. “Is it going to be 100% of what they passed out of the House? No, it never was for us, either. Is it going to be 80%? Probably. And I believe, first of all, that the June 1 deadline is not anything like the crisis. I have watched the Treasury for over 30 years. They can find a way to keep things going for a while.”
“Second, I think that it is very, very important that Speaker McCarthy is such a dramatic contrast with Speaker Pelosi,” he added. “Remember, she once said you have to vote for it to find out what is in it. He is saying no matter what the pressures are. The House is going to have 72 hours. We’re going to have an argument. It is going to work out, and I think that’s a huge step in the right direction. I feel reasonably good after today’s meeting that they are moving in the right direction, and Speaker McCarthy holding his ground, being reasonable, being pleasant but being firm is the right direction.”
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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