House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries pushed back against House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s talking points about his debt ceiling agreement with President Joe Biden.
Jeffries responded to McCarthy’s claim that there’s “not one thing in this bill for Democrats,” which McCarthy said Jeffries told him. (RELATED: ‘A Step In The Right Direction’: Speaker McCarthy Defends Debt Ceiling Agreement After Conservative Criticism)
“I have no idea what he is talking about, particularly because, uh, I have not been able to review the actual legislative text,” Jeffries said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” Sunday.
“Did you even talk to him?” CBS host Margaret Brennan interrupted.
“I talked to him yesterday afternoon, uh, but I haven’t talked to him since that point in time. What I’ve consistently said, however, privately and publicly, was that the extreme MAGA Republican negotiating position, and that the extreme bill they passed on April 26, the Default on America Act, contained nothing that was consistent with Democratic values or American values,” Jeffries said.
Afterwards, Jeffries and Brennan went through the specifics of the agreement and his plan for getting the progressive wing of the Democratic party on board. The White House urged Democrats to pass the deal in a statement Saturday night.
“It is an important step forward that reduces spending while protecting critical programs for working people and growing the economy for everyone,” Biden said, according to the New York Times. “And the agreement protects my and congressional Democrats’ key priorities and legislative accomplishments. The agreement represents a compromise, which means not everyone gets what they want.”
Key provisions in the debt ceiling agreement include cutting spending down to fiscal year 2022 levels and capping annual spending growth at one percent for the next six years, according to a fact sheet sent to Congressional Republicans.