The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) called on vulnerable House Democrats to tell President Joe Biden to negotiate with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) about a potential deal to raise the debt ceiling.
“Voters hate Democrats who make promises in election years to do the right thing, but suddenly go mute when the country needs them to speak up. Runaway spending ballooned on Democrats’ watch and their bill has come due. House Democrats can take responsibility for their spending choices now by telling President Biden to grow up and negotiate,” NRCC communications director Jack Pandol said in a statement on Friday.
The NRCC called on 37 House Democrats that the House Republican campaign arm has been tracking as potential pickups during the 2024 congressional elections. The NRCC threatened to hold them “accountable” should they fail to call on Biden to negotiate.
The NRCC memo follows as House Democrats are increasingly fretting about Biden’s refusal to negotiate with McCarthy. The two leaders have not met for nearly three months.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who is up for reelection in 2024, slammed Biden’s “deficiency of leadership” and praised McCarthy for offering a debt ceiling plan.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting about cybersecurity in the East Room of the White House on August 25, 2021, in Washington, DC (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) // Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) speaks during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on June 9, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC (Al Drago-Pool/Getty Images).
“I respect the White House position. But not in perpetuity. Because negotiation, that’s what this whole institution is about,” Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) explained.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) said, “I do think that the president and the speaker should always talk. And Joe Biden has shown over his history that he’s always willing to negotiate.”
“We’re going to have to negotiate. We obviously want to move away from just legislating by crisis. … I’m encouraging continued negotiations,” Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) asserted.
RELATED — Manchin: Biden Is Creating Uncertainty over Debt Ceiling to Score Political Points
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.