(DCWatchdog.com) – A default of the US government paying its debts would be the fault of President Joe Biden and would end his 2024 reelection bid, according to former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich.
You can watch a video of Gingrich’s remarks at the bottom of this post.
The remarks by Gingrich, the emblematic Republican who led the House in the mid-1990s, come amid intensifying talks between Biden’s White House and the GOP majority in the lower chamber of Congress over a debt ceiling deal to prevent a federal default.
Speaking on the Fox News program “Hannity,” Gingrich praised the stance of GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for dealing with the negotiations with Biden’s White House.
He insisted that McCarthy keep the same course, arguing that if the federal government defaulted, that would hurt Biden’s legacy as president and his 2024 reelection candidacy.
“In my new book, ‘March to the Majority,’ I outline how we did it, and Kevin is following the same game plan — pass the bill, stand firm, be reasonable, but don’t back up,” Gingrich said regarding his experience of dealing with the Clinton administration in the 1990s.
“I think if you look at today’s meeting, you look at what has been happening, inch by inch gradually, the Biden team has come to recognize if there is a default, it is going to go down in history as the Biden default. It is going to end his presidential campaign for 2024, and it is unacceptable. So he is going to have to get somewhere,” the former House speaker said.
“Kevin McCarthy, the Speaker, has done a great job so far of setting a series of goals that the conservatives really want and are refusing to back off the core of those goals,” he elaborated.
“Is it going to be 100% of what they passed out of the House? No, it never was for us, either. Is it going to be 80%? Probably,” Gingrich added.
He emphasized he didn’t believe the warnings of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that the US government could default as early as June 1 absent a debt limit-raising deal.
Gingrich also contrasted how McCarthy did his job as the House Speaker with how his predecessor, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, had done it.
“I think that it is very, very important that Speaker McCarthy is such a dramatic contrast with Speaker Pelosi. Remember, she once said you have to vote for it to find out what is in it. He is saying no matter what the pressures are,” he added.
“The House is going to have 72 hours. We’re going to have an argument. It is going to work out, and I think that’s a huge step in the right direction. I feel reasonably good after today’s meeting that they are moving in the right direction, and Speaker McCarthy holding his ground, being reasonable, being pleasant but being firm is the right direction,” the former House Speaker concluded.
Here is the video:
