By — Associated Press Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-white-house-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-holds-news-briefing-31 Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter WATCH: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre holds news briefing as the nation’s debt ceiling deadline approaches Politics Updated on Jan 18, 2023 6:15 PM EDT — Published on Jan 18, 2023 1:28 PM EDT As the clock ticks down to the nation’s debt ceiling deadline, the White House on Wednesday urged Republicans in Congress to work with President Joe Biden to avoid a potentially dangerous default. Watch the briefing in the player above. Speaking at the briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “the precedent has been for both parties to come together and to get this done. It is the basic duty of Congress to get that done.” The federal government is on the brink of hitting its legal borrowing limit on Thursday. In response, the Treasury Department plans to launch “extraordinary measures” to avoid a default. Those measures refer to a bunch of accounting workarounds that would shift money among accounts to keep the government open through at least June. President Biden and Congress are supposed to use that additional time to work out an agreement to raise the debt ceiling. But so far both sides are at a stand-off. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy said talks should begin immediately on the massive spending cuts Republicans are seeking in exchange for raising the debt limit, but the Biden administration has equated that demand to holding the U.S. economy hostage. WATCH: McCarthy says Congress must probe classified Biden documents Economists have warned that if the White House and Congress can’t reach a deal by June, a global financial crisis could follow. The Biden administration wants the borrowing cap increased without any preconditions. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday ruled out holding talks with McCarthy. The White House also slammed House Republicans for putting some of the party’s “most extreme members” onto plum committee assignments. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona will get to serve on congressional committees again after being kicked off their assignments by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for incindiary comments and spreading violent conspiracy theories. Greene embraced an array of conspiracy theories before winning election, such as in November 2018 when she talked about the 9/11 terrorist attacks, referring to a “so-called” plane that crashed into the Pentagon. She also “liked” a January 2019 Facebook post that called for “a bullet to the head” of Pelosi. Gosar lost his committee assignments in late 2021 after posting an animated video that depicted him killing Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a sword. “On some of these key committees, it appears that House Republicans have handed over the keys to the most extreme members of the Republican caucus,” Jean-Pierre said. Freshman Rep. George Santos who repeatedly lied to voters about his resume and family heritage also picked up two committee assignments after lying to New York voters about his past. By — Associated Press Associated Press
As the clock ticks down to the nation’s debt ceiling deadline, the White House on Wednesday urged Republicans in Congress to work with President Joe Biden to avoid a potentially dangerous default. Watch the briefing in the player above. Speaking at the briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “the precedent has been for both parties to come together and to get this done. It is the basic duty of Congress to get that done.” The federal government is on the brink of hitting its legal borrowing limit on Thursday. In response, the Treasury Department plans to launch “extraordinary measures” to avoid a default. Those measures refer to a bunch of accounting workarounds that would shift money among accounts to keep the government open through at least June. President Biden and Congress are supposed to use that additional time to work out an agreement to raise the debt ceiling. But so far both sides are at a stand-off. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy said talks should begin immediately on the massive spending cuts Republicans are seeking in exchange for raising the debt limit, but the Biden administration has equated that demand to holding the U.S. economy hostage. WATCH: McCarthy says Congress must probe classified Biden documents Economists have warned that if the White House and Congress can’t reach a deal by June, a global financial crisis could follow. The Biden administration wants the borrowing cap increased without any preconditions. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday ruled out holding talks with McCarthy. The White House also slammed House Republicans for putting some of the party’s “most extreme members” onto plum committee assignments. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona will get to serve on congressional committees again after being kicked off their assignments by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for incindiary comments and spreading violent conspiracy theories. Greene embraced an array of conspiracy theories before winning election, such as in November 2018 when she talked about the 9/11 terrorist attacks, referring to a “so-called” plane that crashed into the Pentagon. She also “liked” a January 2019 Facebook post that called for “a bullet to the head” of Pelosi. Gosar lost his committee assignments in late 2021 after posting an animated video that depicted him killing Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a sword. “On some of these key committees, it appears that House Republicans have handed over the keys to the most extreme members of the Republican caucus,” Jean-Pierre said. Freshman Rep. George Santos who repeatedly lied to voters about his resume and family heritage also picked up two committee assignments after lying to New York voters about his past.