Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy made White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre squirm during a G-7 press briefing in Hiroshima, Japan, demanding that she justify President Biden’s seeming lack of interest and urgency in resolving the debt ceiling issue before the US defaults.

While both sides of the political aisle battle over the debt ceiling, Biden is at the G-7 Summit. He will reportedly cut it short to come back to address the debt standoff on Sunday. By all appearances, he doesn’t seem that concerned and is in no hurry to negotiate.

(Video Credit: GOP War Room)

Doocy wanted to know what Biden had been doing over the last several hours concerning the issue considering he has yet to be briefed on the debt ceiling meetings that took place back in DC which basically ended in an ongoing stalemate.

“What was [Biden] doing for the last several hours while they were in these meetings?” Doocy asked the press secretary.

“Well, they were having conversations, right,” Jean-Pierre lamely responded. “They were on the Hill, the negotiators… How would he be updated if they’re still having conversations on the Hill? It just ended moments ago.”

“Couldn’t he call in?” Doocy clapped back.

Jean-Pierre then gave a stunningly vague non-answer claiming that the president was giving “space” to negotiators and that he would be updated regularly by his advisors. It sounded more like a breakup statement than a willingness to tackle a life-or-death economic issue for the United States.

“Look, Peter, we’re going to give the space to these negotiators – the time and the space – to have these conversations,” Jean-Pierre answered.

The federal government is bringing in more money than ever. Yet our national debt has skyrocketed under President Biden.

Washington doesn't have a revenue problem—it has a spending problem. pic.twitter.com/bjlcNZYsHJ

— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) May 19, 2023

She claimed that Biden has sat down with congressional leaders twice attempting to find an agreeable resolution.

“I’m just going to keep going,” she said, attempting to dismiss Doocy.

Earlier in the press briefing, the Fox News reporter grilled the press secretary on why Biden doesn’t trust Vice President Harris to negotiate the debt ceiling talks. He noted that former President Obama deputized then-Vice President Biden to lead negotiations in 2011.

“The last time that we got this close to a debt ceiling default, President Obama deputized his vice president to lead the negotiations. Why doesn’t President Biden trust Vice President Harris to lead these negotiations?” Doocy bluntly asked Jean-Pierre.

Washington has to spend less.

It's as simple as that.

— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) May 19, 2023

The national debt is like a credit card. Year after year after year, Washington keeps hitting the limit, so they just keep expanding it.

Now, America's credit card debt is higher than what we make in an entire year.

Shouldn't we reevaluate how Washington is spending your money? pic.twitter.com/seRKXApYvg

— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) May 19, 2023

She responded that she disagreed with the premise of Doocy’s question. The press secretary defensively claimed that Harris was present at a meeting with congressional members recently and that the president regularly consults with her and listens to her advice.

“I disagree with the premise of your question. The president does,” she replied. “She was in the meeting with the congressional members that occurred very recently, right before the president left for Japan. She has been in regular conversations with the president. He has taken her as a consult and listened to her advice, as he always does on many issues.”

The Wall Street Journal reported on the impasse over the debt ceiling, “Debt-ceiling negotiators broke off a second round of talks late Friday without yielding a breakthrough, as the White House and House Republicans struggled to reach a deal to raise the limit and avert a government default as soon as next month.”

“The resumption and abrupt end of the talks Friday night followed a breakdown in the negotiations earlier in the day, highlighting the divisions that remain as time for reaching a deal draws short,” the media outlet noted.

That highlights the fact that Biden should be addressing the negotiations one way or the other. It is, after all, his job to do so.

.@POTUS waited months before agreeing to negotiate with @SpeakerMcCarthy on a spending deal. They are the only two who can reach an agreement. It is past time for the White House to get serious. Time is of the essence.

— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) May 19, 2023

President Biden is in Japan. Senate Democrats are on recess for the week. I thought there was a “debt ceiling” crisis looming? The @HouseGOP has done its job – the debt ceiling can be raised in a few days if 11 Senate Democrats & @JoeBiden get out of the way.

— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) May 19, 2023

“There is no question we have serious differences,” Jean-Pierre said during the press briefing at the G-7 Summit. She asserted that the White House will “work hard toward a reasonable bipartisan solution” that can pass both chambers of Congress.

“This is the core of democracy, that’s what we’re seeing at play here,” she asserted, intimating that the Democrats are not going to budge as default looms.

White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt slammed conservatives over not caving on the debt ceiling.

“Republicans are taking the economy hostage and pushing us to the brink of default,” he charged. He then added that Republicans “are recycling a barely watered-down version of their extreme budget proposal.”

The tentative deadline for the debt ceiling is June 1. According to the Treasury Department, that is the date it estimates the government will no longer be able to meet its payment obligations without more borrowing.

Biden and Democrats want the debt ceiling lifted immediately. Republicans seem to be standing firm on it and will only do so if spending cuts are implemented which the Democrats refuse to do.

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