President Joe Biden will take his case for raising the debt ceiling without conditions on the road to Valhalla, New York, Wednesday as he seeks to ramp up the public pressure campaign on lawmakers with the threat of default – and potential economic catastrophe – just over three weeks away.
The trip comes as the president is set to reconvene with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and congressional leaders on Friday after a one-hour meeting in the Oval Office on Tuesday reinforced the monthslong standoff over the debt ceiling with each side dug in on their positions.
Following the meeting, Biden said he “made it clear” to congressional leaders “that default is not an option,” adding he is “absolutely certain” the US could avert defaulting on its debt.
“I know we have the time, we could do it easily, but do we have the will?” the president said, reiterating his call for a clean debt ceiling increase before discussions about the budget and spending framework takes place.
“I didn’t see any new movement,” McCarthy, who is holding the line on spending cuts accompanying any debt limit hike, told reporters after the meeting. “I would hope that he’d be willing to negotiate for the next two weeks so we could actually solve this problem and not take America on the brink.”
As the stalemate in Washington, DC, continues, the president will turn his attention to courting support in competitive districts, holding an event in Valhalla, an area represented in part by Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who flipped the state’s 17th congressional district from blue to red in last year’s midterm elections.
Lawler, who will be on hand for the event at SUNY Westchester Community College, is one of 18 GOP lawmakers representing districts Biden won in the 2020 presidential campaign. Each of those lawmakers has backed McCarthy’s approach, but the…
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