McCarthy says he has reached deal ‘in principle’ with Biden on debt ceiling

On Saturday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced he had reached an agreement in “principle” with Joe Biden on the debt ceiling. 

“I just got off the phone with [Joe Biden] a bit ago. After he wasted time and refused to negotiate for months, we’ve come to an agreement in principle that is worthy of the American people,” he wrote on Twitter. 

Joe Biden meets with Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Wednesday, February 1, 2023, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz).

He gave a 9:10 p.m. ET statement to slightly elaborate on his announcement.

In the video description, McCarthy wrote, “Republicans are poised to deliver big, consequential change in Washington. Soon, we will vote for a responsible debt limit agreement that stops Democrats’ reckless spending, claws back unspent COVID funds, blocks Biden’s new tax schemes, and much, much more.”

“We still have a lot of work to do,” he said. “There are no new taxes, no new government programs.” 

Sunday afternoon, McCarthy will release a copy of the bill. He did not take any questions from the press. 

Watch the announcement here:

Following the announcement, McCarthy’s ally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), praised the news and said the tentative deal brokered between the two will “claw” back funding from the CDC’s “Global Health Fund.”

Members of the Freedom Caucus, such as Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) were not happy with rumors the “deal” is for $4 trillion in new spending.

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