White House says Republican debt-limit plan would ‘take a hatchet’ to key programs – live | US politics #White #House #Republican #debtlimit #plan #hatchet #key #programs #live #politics

It’s been brewing for months, but with the release of the House Republican proposal to raise the debt ceiling yesterday, it’s safe to say that the latest skirmish in the perennial Washington standoff has officially kicked off.

There’s a lot to say about the debt ceiling, but here’s the gist: the United States, somewhat uniquely, places a legal limit on how much debt the government can take on. The US borrows continuously and that limit was reached in January, meaning everything the government does – from social security payments to the salaries of government workers – is being paid for by the cash the government has on hand. As soon as early June, by some estimates, those funds will be exhausted, meaning the US won’t be able to pay its bills. Of chief concern are the payments it must make on its outstanding debt – if American defaults on one of those, it could have major consequences for the economy.

Led by House speaker Kevin McCarthy, the Republicans yesterday unveiled the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023, which would raise the limit through March of next year, while targeting several of Joe Biden’s priorities. The bill would block his plan to cancel some federal student loans, rescind $80bn in new funding for the Internal Revenue Service, which was meant in part to crack down on tax cheats, and make across-the-board spending cuts.

“The American people expect and deserve serious, sensible action to address our soaring national debt,” McCarthy and other House Republican leaders said in a statement announcing the bill. “Unfortunately, President Biden has avoided taking any action, even though he added $6 trillion to our nation’s debt burden in two years and caused historic inflation that continues to hurt families and small businesses. The President seems to have no interest in negotiating a responsible debt limit increase. What President Biden is demanding is irresponsible.”

Biden immediately criticized the idea, and his press secretary’s statement this morning makes clear the White House is not happy with the GOP’s starting position in what will likely be weeks of negotiating. But with the fate of the world’s largest economy in the balance, negotiating is all the two sides can do.

Good morning, US politics blog readers. The White House apparently spent the evening at the whetstone, sharpening their rhetorical knives for use against the proposal released by the House Republicans to increase the debt ceiling while also cutting spending to a variety of Joe Biden’s priorities. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is out with a statement first thing this morning that says: “Maga House Republicans are holding the American economy hostage in order to take a hatchet to programs Americans rely on every day to make ends meet.”

With the US government expected to exhaust its cash on hand sometime in early June (a date that could change), we are surely going to be hearing a lot about this battle in the weeks to come.

That’s not all that’s happening today:

• The House will vote on GOP legislation to ban transgender athletes from women’s athletics at schools and colleges, with speaker Kevin McCarthy holding a press conference about the bill around 11.15am eastern time, after its expected passage.

• A Republican senator has introduced a motion of no confidence in homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a frequent target of Republican ire over migrant arrivals at the southern border.

• Donald Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn is scheduled to be interviewed today by Jack Smith, the special prosecutor looking into the former president’s possession of classified documents and involvement in trying to overturn the 2020 election.