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Senate Republicans said Tuesday they’re taking their cues on the debt limit from the House of Representatives ahead of next week’s meeting between President Biden and the four top congressional leaders.
Biden on Monday invited Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries to the White House May 9. It came just after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the government will need to borrow money again by June 1 or fall short of its obligations.
Ahead of that sit-down, Senate Republicans have made clear it’s up to McCarthy and Biden to hash out a deal.
“We have all been led to believe that this will be a conversation between the speaker and the president of the United States,” Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., told reporters Tuesday. He explained that it would be impractical for McConnell to lead on negotiations when McCarthy’s chamber, where he presides over a thin majority, has a broader coalition of Republicans to bring to the table.
HOUSE PASSES MCCARTHY’S DEBT CEILING BILL BY TWO VOTES; FOUR REPUBLICANS VOTE AGAINST
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks during a press conference following a luncheon with Senate Republicans in the U.S. Capitol Building May 2, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“I think that’s the appropriate place for the conversation to occur right now,” Young said. “Otherwise, you’ve got the Senate Minority Leader trying to thread a needle in and figure out how to get the support of Main Street Republicans and Freedom Caucus Republicans, and he’s in another chamber. It’s hard for me to see how that’s a recipe for success.”
In addition to a narrower coalition of Republicans, McConnell’s influence is also limited by the GOP’s role as the minority party in the Senate.
SCHUMER REJECTS HOUSE DEBT CEILING BILL, PLANS HEARINGS TO ‘EXPOSE’ GOP’S ‘RECKLESS LEGISLATION’
House Republicans narrowly…
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