White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed on Monday that House Republicans are “manufacturing” a debt limit crisis after the House passed a bill to increase the debt limit to avoid default.
One day before President Joe Biden will sit down with congressional leaders to have a conversation about the debt limit, Jean-Pierre claimed Republicans were manufacturing a debt limit crisis by drawing the White House into negotiations.
“There shouldn’t be negotiations on the debt limit,” she told reporters during a White House press briefing. “This is something that they [Congress] should get to regular order and get to work on. We should not have House Republicans manufacturing a crisis.”
In 2011, Joe Biden played a key role in negotiating a debt limit increase, a contrast to the White House’s position heading into negotiations with Republicans now.
Jean-Pierre said Tuesday’s summit will entail Biden having a “conversation on how important it is for Congress to do its job.” But she added that talking about raising the debt limit should not be tied to cutting runaway Biden administration spending.
“They will also discuss a separate process for budget and appropriations,” she said, previewing the meeting.
Ignoring the House bill to raise the debt limit, Jean-Pierre reiterated the nation must raise the debt limit to avoid becoming a so-called “deadbeat nation.”
“We have to deal with the debt. We must, must deal with the debt limit,” she said.
In April, House Republicans passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling and avoid default. Yet the White House has rejected the bill and dubbed it the so-called “Default on America Act” — even though it would prevent default.
WATCH: McCarthy: Pelosi Refused Clean Debt Limit Hike in 2019 When Debt Was Lower
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.