CNN anchor John King commended Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene during a Wednesday segment for sounding “reasonable” about the debt ceiling.
The show’s panel discussed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s spending cuts proposal in order to raise the debt ceiling, which includes slashing funding for entitlement and discretionary spending, plus reforms to the tax code to encourage family formation. Greene told a reporter Wednesday morning she is “willing to negotiate” with Democrats to connect the debt ceiling with the budget.
“I’m angry I have to deal with the debt ceiling issue, but again, to me it’s like the shining object, it’s not connected with the budget,” Greene said. “The budget and appropriations is the real fight. I’m willing to negotiate and get something to get it over with so that we can do the real work and cut spending.”
Before cutting to the clip of the representative, King said Greene’s statement “sounds reasonable.”
“So, I’m going to say this. Here is someone who sounds reasonable about how this should play out. Her name is Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene,” King said. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: RSC Chairman Kevin Hern Calls For ‘Strong Debt Limit Bill’ By End Of April)
The anchor then said President Joe Biden’s administration “essentially agree[s]” with Greene but argued the White House will never admit it.
“It’ll never happen, but the Biden White House essentially agrees. They will never say it, but they essentially agree with her: ‘You should pass a clean debt ceiling and we should talk about the budget. Let’s fight about spending cuts in the normal budget process,'” King added.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Tia Mitchell said it is “significant” that Greene appears willing to make negotiations and start a clean budget, but predicted the congresswoman is unlikely to vote against the majority of her party due to her giving McCarthy “negotiating power.”
The U.S. reached its $31.4 trillion debt ceiling Jan. 19, 2023, leading Republicans and Democrats to clash over the proper solution. While Republicans continue to propose spending cuts, Democrats have come out in opposition to such a proposal.
McCarthy has vowed any cuts to Social Security and Medicare are “off the table” in budget negotiations. He met with Biden in late January to discuss negotiations regarding the debt ceiling, despite the president previously refusing to negotiate with Republican leadership.
Economists have warned that failure to raise the ceiling could cause the U.S. to default on its debt, CNN reported, though analyst Jaret Seiberg maintains defaulting is not “inevitable.” If the U.S. Department of Treasury defaults on payments, it could lead the country into a recession and cut domestic growth, according to the Financial Times.