Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said Democrats should "definitely not" engage with Republicans in debt limit discussions, claiming negotiating with the GOP is like "trying to nail jello to a tree."
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy recently revealed his plans to introduce the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023, legislation that would cut federal spending and lift the debt ceiling. However, the California congressman would need bipartisan support in order to pass the new bill.
When asked if House Democrats should negotiate with McCarthy on the federal budget, Ocasio-Cortez claimed "Republicans are too much of a mess right now to do so."
"In my view, definitely not but even if you wanted to negotiate, Republicans are too much of a mess right now to do so," Ocasio-Cortez posted on her Instagram story. "Republicans can't even get their own party behind one plan, let alone both parties. Negotiating with that is like trying to nail jello to a tree. What is there to even negotiate?"
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"McCarthy is a mess. Which of course is how this whole thing started. The situation is very concerning honestly because mess or not the GOP was elected to govern, and they really cannot," the congresswoman wrote on social media over a photo of House Republicans during the 2023 vote for Speaker of the House.
In order to pass the bill, Republicans will need to negotiate with the White House, but Democrats have expressed scant interest in agreeing to spending cuts in order to raise the debt limit.
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"I sat down with the president on February 1, and the president never wants to meet," McCarthy recently told Bloomberg TV regarding attempt to negotiation with President Biden and the Democrats. "I’m very concerned about the debt ceiling."
While many congressional Democrats expressed disinterest in McCarthy's bill, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., blasted his own party for "a deficiency of leadership" regarding debt limit negotiations.
"Our elected leaders must stop with the political games, work together and negotiate a compromise. Instead, it has been more than 78 days since President Biden last met with Speaker McCarthy. This signals a deficiency of leadership, and it must change," Manchin said in a statement Thursday after McCarthy's announcement.
"I think it's a great step in the right direction, I just hope we can find someone in the White House that’s willing to negotiate," said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said of the bill, as Republicans seek bipartisan support to pass their bill.
If passed, McCarthy assured that the bill, expected to reach a vote as early as next week, would "provide more than $4.5 trillion in savings to the American taxpayer."
