Bidens Message to McCarthy: Raising the Debt Ceiling Is Not a Negotiation

President Joe Biden has a message for new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy the day before a meeting between the two to discuss how to avoid a catastrophic default on the U.S. debt.

There really is no negotiating on raising the debt ceiling. Also, what the GOP is talking about would only make things worse.

A memo the White House released Tuesday morning says Biden will have two questions for McCarthy, a California Republican whose caucus is threatening to refuse to increase the debt ceiling without give-backs on the budget.

First, Biden will seek a commitment from McCarthy that he will ensure the country will pay its already-incurred debt, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young said in the memo.

Secondly, Biden wants to know when Republicans will release their budget, which would show what programs the new House majority would cut to reduce the deficit and the debt.

"The United States must never default on its financial obligations. Raising the debt ceiling is not a negotiation; it is an obligation of this country and its leaders to avoid economic chaos," Deese and Young wrote in the memo previewing the Wednesday meeting, the first one-on-one Biden will have with McCarthy since the tumultuous vote for Speaker earlier this month.