Biden blasts House GOP’s budget proposals as he readies for a shutdown fight

President Joe Biden on Thursday issued a blistering rebuke of House Republicans’ budget proposals ahead of an upcoming fight over funding the government, warning “MAGAnomics” proposals are “more extreme than anything America has ever seen before.”

“Since I’ve come to office, all they’ve really done is attack me and my economic plan – there hasn’t been much else, even though we’ve created, I should point out, over 30 million jobs – more jobs in two years than any president’s created in a four-year term,” he said. “America has the strongest economy in the world, of all major economies, but all they do is attack it.”

“But you know, you notice something? For all the time they spent attacking me and my plan, here’s what they never do – they never talk about what they want to do. No, think about it, they tell you what they’re against. What’re they for? It’s like they want to keep it a secret. I don’t blame them.”

Thursday’s speech – which the president delivered at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Maryland – was the latest attempt to reframe the public’s perception of Biden’s handling of the economy, a metric on which he frequently receives poor marks. A majority of Americans polled – 58% - say Biden’s policies have made economic conditions worse, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS released last week, up from 50% a year ago.

The president has made his economic story – building “from the bottom up and middle out,” as he frequently says in speeches – central to his reelection effort. Changing voters minds about the economy and convincing them of its strength is among the key challenges Biden most overcome between now and November 2024.

There is no consensus among House Republicans on the best path forward to fund the government with some in House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s right flank threatening to oust him if he brings a clean spending bill to the floor. The White House has called on Congress to pass a short-term spending bill to keep the government running while congressional leaders hash out major differences, something conservatives in McCarthy’s caucus are loathe to accept.

Biden said House Republicans’ economic proposals would achieve three major things – cutting taxes for the wealthy and for corporations, cutting funding for Social Security and Medicaid, and raise costs for families by gutting investments in the middles class. He slammed McCarthy for reneging on a deal cut in June to keep spending level over the next fiscal year as part of negotiations to raise the debt ceiling.

“Now, they’re turning their backs on the bipartisan budget deal Speaker McCarthy made with me just a few months ago, after threatening to do something no one – and came very close to it – shutting down and reneging on our national debt, which would have caused an international economic crisis,” he warned. “Well, they’re back at it again, breaking their commitment, threatening – threatening more cuts and threatening to shut down government again this month.”

The speech was also the latest effort from a White House intent on turning the nation’s attention toward Biden’s domestic agenda as legal issues envelop his son Hunter, who was indicted just before the speech began, and Republicans in Congress prepare to formally launch an impeachment inquiry into Biden. The White House directed requests for comment on Hunter Biden’s indictment to the Justice Department on Thursday.

The president commented on the impeachment inquiry for the first time on Wednesday night, linking it to the shutdown fight.

“Well, I tell you what, I don’t know quite why, but they just knew they wanted to impeach me. And now, the best I can tell, they want to impeach me because they want to shut down the government.”

“So look, look, I got a job to do. Everybody always asked about impeachment. I get up every day, not a joke, not focused on impeachment. I’ve got a job to do. I’ve got to deal with the issues that affect the American people every single solitary day.”

The impeachment inquiry announcement and the specter of a possible shutdown has given the White House another chance to turn the focus on the sometimes-chaotic House Republican Conference and draw a stark contrast with Biden’s economic message.

The Biden administration and allies in Congress blasted the House GOP for proposing “devastating” cuts to federal programs in legislation they warned runs afoul of the bipartisan budget agreement signed into law this summer.

“Earlier this year, President Biden and congressional leaders reached a bipartisan budget agreement that set a framework to keep the government open and protect critical priorities for the American people – a deal is the deal,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday.

“The president, House Democrats, Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans have stood by that agreement with bipartisan movement in the Senate today, but speaker McCarthy and House Republicans have taken a different approach, ignoring the agreement that a majority of them voted for and advancing extreme partisan bills that break their promise and gut investments in America.”

Biden’s campaign has already attempted to move the needle on the issue, launching an ad titled “Got to Work” last week touting the administration’s economic achievements as part of a $25 million ad blitz first reported last month by CNN.

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