The White House has launched an attack on Kevin McCarthy, using quotes from former President Donald Trump. Andrew Bates, a spokesperson for the White House, responded to McCarthy’s speech by accusing him of breaking with the bipartisan norm he followed under Trump.
“Speaker McCarthy is breaking with the bipartisan norm he followed under Trump by engaging in dangerous economic hostage taking that threatens hard-working Americans’ jobs and retirement savings,” Bates said in response to McCarthy’s speech.
“In 2019, Donald Trump himself said, ‘I can’t imagine anybody ever even thinking of using the debt ceiling as a negotiating wedge.’ This morning, Speaker McCarthy did just that.”
Bates criticized McCarthy’s speech, saying that “McCarthy again failed to clearly outline what House Republicans are proposing and will vote on, even as he referenced a vague, extreme MAGA wish list.” Bates claimed that the list would “increase costs for hard-working families, take food assistance and healthcare away from millions of Americans, and yet enlarge the deficit when combined with House Republican proposals for tax giveaways skewed to the super-rich, special interests, and profitable companies.”
Bates concluded by saying that “A speech isn’t a plan, but it did showcase House Republicans’ priorities. Rather than ask the super wealthy to pay their fair share, they propose cutting services for veterans. Rather than cut spending to Big Pharma, they propose sending manufacturing jobs overseas to countries including China.”
These strong words by the White House spokesperson clearly indicate a major rift between the Biden administration and the House Republicans.
