McCarthy vows Wednesday release of his debt-limit plan, vote next week

Speaker Kevin McCarthy is vowing to publicly unveil details of his party's debt limit plan later Wednesday — a critical step forward in a months-long standoff with President Joe Biden. The California Republican also promised the House GOP would approve the bill by next week, a task that's likely to prove complicated given the internal frustration about the path forward aired during a closed-door conference meeting on Tuesday.

"Do they think this is right, that the president refuses to even negotiate or talk?" McCarthy said of Biden's disinterest in coming to the table for negotiations as Republicans insist on spending cuts in exchange for voting to avoid an economically catastrophic debt default.

The president and speaker haven't communicated on the looming debt crisis since February. But Biden was set to deliver his own fresh pushback to McCarthy in a speech Wednesday, where he's expected to reject the GOP plan as "the same old trickle-down dressed up in MAGA clothing."

"He proposed huge cuts to important programs that millions of working- and middle-class Americans count on," Biden will say, according to an excerpt of his speech at a Maryland union hall.

The White House has repeatedly dinged McCarthy for delaying a release of a budget proposal that would theoretically outline the Republican goals for slashing the federal deficit. That budget plan now appears indefinitely on ice as the speaker presses ahead toward passage of his debt-limit offer.

The news late last week that McCarthy would issue a debt-limit proposal rather than a budget prompted a flurry of strategizing inside the administration ahead of its unveiling, as officials gamed out options for a response. But McCarthy’s decision to stock the plan with a wish-list of conservative priorities — combined with doubts over whether it could win enough GOP support to pass the House — has left Biden officials unconvinced there's any reason to budge off their current hardline stance.

"Speaker McCarthy is engaging in dangerous economic hostage-taking," press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. "Why would the speaker — like no other speaker has done before — threaten default?"

McCarthy said he would use passage of his proposal, which is likely to include deregulatory and energy moves beyond spending cuts, to keep pushing for a sit down with Biden. He's slated to deliver a floor speech later Wednesday that could shed more light on specific details in the package he's crafting, according to a senior Republican familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The White House, however, insists there is nothing Republicans can offer that will convince them to compromise over the debt limit. Biden officials in recent days have worked to maintain a united front among Democrats on Capitol Hill, warning that a debt ceiling negotiation would set a dangerous precedent.

Biden personally called Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries on Tuesday to stress that there would be no negotiation, a Democratic aide said.

The White House also distributed two memos to congressional Democrats this week detailing support from economists and business leaders for a clean increase, as well as polling showing broad opposition to the cuts included in the GOP bill.

Democratic senators quickly made clear that Republicans' opening offer is doomed if it reaches the upper chamber.

“There are no policy concessions that should ever be attached to avoiding default — it doesn’t matter which policy concessions they are,” said Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, adding that Senate Democrats remain "100 percent" behind that stance.

Still, there is growing urgency among lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to make progress toward a resolution. Budget forecasters now predict the nation could hit its borrowing limit earlier than expected, and as soon as late next month.

And McCarthy didn't shrink from blasting the upper chamber on Wednesday for what he portrayed as legislative laziness.

The Senate "named March maple syrup month and then yesterday they congratulated UConn on winning the national championship. It'd be interesting if the Senate ever does anything," the speaker said.