Politics

Manchin Says He’s Baffled Why ‘Reasonable’ Biden Won’t Negotiate On Debt Ceiling

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Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said Friday he could not understand why President Joe Biden wouldn’t negotiate on the debt ceiling.

“President Biden is great to talk to. You sit down and talk with him, you can work things out. He’s reasonable, okay?” Manchin told CNN “This Morning” host Kaitlan Collins. “And I don’t know why for some reason they’re saying, ‘We’re not going to. We’ll come on over and talk and have coffee, but we’re not going to negotiate.’ Have a good conversation.”

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House Republicans have demanded that any increase in the limit be accompanied by spending cuts following Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen informing Congress that the country reached the $31.4 trillion debt limit Jan. 19. The Biden administration has refused to negotiate with House Republicans, accusing them of holding the economy “hostage.”

“They’re actually threatening to have us default on the American debt … MAGA Republicans are literally choosing to inflict this kind of pain on the American people. Why? Why?” Biden asked during a Thursday speech in Virginia, where he claimed “MAGA Republicans” sought to undo progress.

“We have the ability to correct this. But the further it grows and the larger it grows, the harder it becomes. Then you have the debt payment,” Manchin said. “You know, for 10 years, the debt was around zero — I mean, the interest rate was around zero, from the Fed’s. Now as interest rates are growing, we’re going to have a challenge to where very shortly, we’ll be paying more to service, we’ll be paying more to service the debt that our country is carrying than we will to defend our country.”