Karine Jean-Pierre AGAIN defends Biden leaving D.C. for Memorial Day with seven days until default

The White House on Thursday urged House Republicans to reach a “reasonable agreement” on the budget — and defended President Joe Biden’s expected travel plans, even citing a possible U.S. bankruptcy within days.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked Thursday about the plans of Biden and his congressional counterparts, with more talk of “progress” but no indication yet of a deal impending a June 1 bankruptcy. could occur.

“What I can say is that the president can address this issue anywhere,” she said.

It’s an argument the White House has made in the past, as the president travels with a bevy of aides and communications equipment. But Biden chose to cut short his planned trip to Australia and Papua New Guinea last week due to the need to get out of the impasse.

Biden met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy just once this week, late Monday afternoon after returning from Japan.

The defense came as House Democrats all the way to Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries spent Thursday beating Republicans for skipping town before a deal was struck.

“It is my understanding that both President Biden and Speaker McCarthy’s delegates will continue to talk, but it is unfortunate that House Republicans have chosen to go out of town before sundown when we face a dangerous bankruptcy and the possibility of our economy. crash,” Jeffries told reporters at a news conference.

House Republican leaders announced on Thursday they would send members home for Memorial Day, but instructed them to prepare 24 hours in advance for DC in case of a breakthrough.

Jean-Pierre’s comment came a day after she asked a similar question on Wednesday.

“You used words like catastrophic and devastating today about the debt ceiling, but the president is going to Camp David again this weekend and then to Delaware,” a reporter asked her at the time. “If the situation is so dire, why is the president…” the reporter asked before Jean-Pierre interrupted.

“I just answered that question,” she said. ‘Do you have another one? I literally answered that question,” she said.

While Biden and McCarthy only met once this week, the daily conversations were conducted by two senior members of his staff and two Republican House lawmakers. McCarthy also revealed that he has spoken to former President Donald Trump about the budget in remarks he labeled brief. Trump was in town Thursday to host the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV golf tournament at his Virginia estate.

President Joe Biden stressed that conversations with Republicans were “about the outline of what the budget will look like — not default.” He spoke in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Thursday, May 25, 2023, about his intention to nominate U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. C. Q. Brown, Jr., right, as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, while Secretary of State of Defense Lloyd Austin and Vice President Kamala Harris listen.

“The American people need to know that we are not taking hostages here. Default is not an option,” Jean-Pierre said in one of her jokes to Republicans, amid calls from some progressive Democrats for Biden to up his communications game.

Her comment came a day after she told Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz had called because he told Semafor that his colleagues agreed and, “They don’t feel we need to negotiate with our hostage.”

The rule seemed to suggest that Gaetz might admit to the hostage taking — using the threat as leverage — that the White House has accused them of in the past.

Biden himself spoke on the state of play at the start of an event formally announcing his nomination of CQ Brown, Jr. as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

He said the talks were “about the outline of what the budget will look like — not default.”

Then he said that he and “Speaker McCarthy and I have very different views on who should bear the brunt of extra efforts to get our fiscal house in order. ‘

He said GOP proposals would lead to “massive cuts” in teachers, police and border security.

“I don’t believe the whole burden should fall on the American middle and working class,” he said.

He cited his own proposal to cut $1 trillion and get the rich to “start paying their fair share” — though McCarthy says his revenue proposals are off the table.

“I have made it clear time and time again that defaulting on our national debt is not an option,” Biden said.

House conservatives and progressives are beginning to squawk about the kind of deal that could emerge, with the White House saying it must be approved on a bipartisan basis.