Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Wednesday that President Biden “walled off” all but 11 percent of the federal budget for spending cuts in their debt ceiling negotiations.
“We only got to look at 11 percent of the budget to find these cuts,” McCarthy said in an interview on Fox News Channel’s “The Faulkner Focus,” adding it was “because the president walled off all the others.”
“The majority driver of the budget is mandatory spending. It’s Medicare, Social Security, interest on the debt,” he said. “So you only have 11 percent to look at this budget.”
McCarthy and Biden reached a deal on the debt ceiling Saturday night, which is expected to head to a vote in the House on Wednesday night.
While more than 30 House Republicans have indicated they will not vote for the measure, the Speaker remained optimistic they can “get it done without them.”
“We will get it done overwhelmingly,” McCarthy said. “Look, people have different opinions. … To govern is not easy, but I don’t want to be on the wrong side of history.”
He added he also plans to form a bipartisan commission to examine the entire budget.
“This isn’t the end. This doesn’t solve all the problems,” McCarthy said. “This is the first step.”