House GOP to pitch $1.5T debt ceiling raise amid Biden impasse

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is moving to end a standoff with President Biden over federal spending by proposing to raise the nation’s debt ceiling by up to $1.5 trillion, according to multiple reports Wednesday.

The details of the proposal, including any potential spending cuts, aren’t immediately clear, but it’s likely McCarthy (R-Calif.) will include at least some reductions — after the White House demanded an increase without conditions.

The plan appears to be an opening gambit rather than the product of any bipartisan dealing, with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre scoffing shortly after the news broke that “you have a speaker that is threatening to default … there should be no negotiations.”

The legislation, set to be revealed later Wednesday, would allow Washington to borrow either another $1.5 trillion or until March 31, 2024. The details were first reported by Punchbowl News.

McCarthy’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The plan threatens to destabilize McCarthy’s own leadership if the cuts aren’t deep enough for fiscal hardliners. A coalition of 20 critics delayed McCarthy’s ascension to the House speakership in January, forcing 15 ballots and many concessions — including an easier mechanism to oust the speaker in a no-confidence vote.

The proposal leaked as Biden prepared to bash Republican plans at an afternoon speech in Maryland.

The US national debt is currently about $31.7 trillion, compared to roughly $27.75 trillion when Biden took office and about $19.95 trillion in 2017 when former President Donald Trump took office.

A budget proposal released by Biden last month would increase the annual deficit from $1.38 trillion in fiscal 2022 to $1.9 trillion in fiscal 2025 — meaning the national debt actually would grow at a faster rate.

This is a developing story.