Refraining from a personal argument with the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy, Joe Biden rather chose to call him an “honest man”. amid the ongoing debt ceiling crisis.

What happened: President Biden raised the issue of the upcoming debt ceiling deadline ahead of him in his first interview in weeks forthcoming meeting with senior Congressional leaders on May 9th.

“I think he’s in the position, well, he had to make a deal and that was pretty – you know, 15 votes. Fifteen votes he had — almost everything he sold — way, way right,” Biden said.

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“There’s the Republican Party and there’s the MAGA Republicans, and the MAGA Republicans really put him in a position where he has to agree to stay Speaker — he’s agreed to things that he might believe, but easy are extreme.”

Why it matters: The Republican House of Representatives last week passed legislation raising the debt limit and cutting spending by nearly 217 to 215 votes. This bill represents the Republican Party’s stance on how to avert a looming debt crisis in the near future. The The Biden administration rejected the bill If Congress does nothing, the US government could be headed for an unprecedented default that would “shake the world economy”.

However, Biden and McCarthy have only officially negotiated once The Speaker of the House of Representatives has pushed for a follow-up. The duo will meet next week to try a workaround for raising the debt ceiling.

Continue reading: Bernie Sanders disagrees with Biden on many issues, but says: “I don’t think you have many alternatives.”