Politics

(REHOBOTH BEACH, Del.) — The FBI conducted a “planned search” Wednesday morning of President Joe Biden’s home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, according to Biden’s personal lawyer amid an ongoing probe into the potential mishandling of classified documents.

Afterward, Biden’s persoinal attorney Bob Bauer said no documents with classified markings were found, but “DOJ took for further review some materials and handwritten notes that appear to relate to his time as Vice President.”

The search took place for three-and-a-half hours, Bauer said — from 8:30 a.m. to noon ET.

“Today, with the President’s full support and cooperation, the DOJ is conducting a planned search of his home in Rehoboth, Delaware,” Bauer wrote in a statement released Wednesday morning after pool reporters spotted four vehicles there. “Under DOJ’s standard procedures, in the interests of operational security and integrity, it sought to do this work without advance public notice, and we agreed to cooperate. The search today is a further step in a thorough and timely DOJ process we will continue to fully support and facilitate. We will have further information at the conclusion of today’s search.”

Hours later, White House counsel spokesperson Ian Sams came before cameras at the White House to address reporters’ questions — and did not rule out the possibility of additional FBI searches of homes or offices used by Biden throughout his career.

“I’m not going to speak to decision making that the Justice Department is going to make about how to conduct their investigation. That certainly would be more appropriate to be asked of them as opposed to us but, you know, we’re being fully cooperative,” Sams said when asked whether there are deliberations to conduct more searches.

Asked point-blank whether the FBI has conducted any searches of any other locations associated with Biden, Sams dodged giving a yes or no answer.

“Look, I think we’re providing information as this goes on and answering questions about the search activities as they’ve been happening,” he said.

After Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Robert Hur as special counsel last month to investigate the potential mishandling of classified documents, Hur was expected to formally begin his work this week, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

Wednesday marks the second DOJ search the president’s lawyers have acknowledged. The first was the nearly 13-hour search of Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware, home on Jan. 20, disclosed on Jan. 21, which found additional classified documents after Biden’s attorneys searched the home themselves in December and found some classified materials, the president’s lawyers have said.

Biden’s team has not acknowledged the FBI’s search of the Penn Biden Center back in mid-November, which ABC reported.

While the contents of the dozens of documents discovered classified markings are still unclear, in a statement in mid-January, Richard Sauber, another lawyer to Biden, said: “We are confident that a thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and the President and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake.”

Biden has maintained he is cooperating fully with Justice Department authorities, but reporters have questioned whether the White House is being fully transparent on the matter.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has struggled at the podium when confronted with reporters’ questions as news continues to break around the classified documents drama ahead of the White House informing the public.

Sams defended the White House’s handling of the situation earlier Wednesday.

“I think we’ve been pretty transparent from the very beginning with providing information as it occurs throughout this process,” he said. “We have released, probably thousands of words of statements from the president’s personal attorney and the White House Counsel’s Office about the process that has been undertaken here.”

Classified documents were also taken from former President Donald Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago last summer, in a court-authorized FBI search, after what the government has called a months-long effort to get Trump to return all of the classified material he kept after leaving office. Trump denies wrongdoing.

Former Vice President Mike Pence’s lawyers recently did their own search of his Indiana home and found some classified records that he retained after leaving office, which he returned to the government, according to his attorneys. Pence said on Friday that it was a “mistake” and he was unaware the documents were there, but he took “full responsibility.”

Biden has largely declined to comment on the classified documents found at his home and office but has said he was “surprised” records were located at the Penn Biden Center.

ABC News’ Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(REHOBOTH BEACH, Del.) — The FBI conducted a “planned search” Wednesday of President Joe Biden’s home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, according to Biden’s personal lawyer amid an ongoing probe into the potential mishandling of classified documents.

Biden’s attorney Bob Bauer said no documents with classified markings were found, but “DOJ took for further review some materials and handwritten notes that appear to relate to his time as Vice President.”

The search took place for three and a half hours, Bauer said — from 8:30 a.m. to noon ET.

“Today, with the President’s full support and cooperation, the DOJ is conducting a planned search of his home in Rehoboth, Delaware,” Bauer wrote in a statement after pool reporters spotted four vehicles there. “Under DOJ’s standard procedures, in the interests of operational security and integrity, it sought to do this work without advance public notice, and we agreed to cooperate. The search today is a further step in a thorough and timely DOJ process we will continue to fully support and facilitate. We will have further information at the conclusion of today’s search.”

After Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Robert Hur as special counsel last month to investigate the potential mishandling of classified documents, Hur was expected to formally begin his work this week, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

Wednesday marks the second DOJ search the president’s lawyers have acknowledged. The first was the nearly 13-hour search of Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware, home on Jan. 20, disclosed on Jan. 21, which found additional classified documents after Biden’s attorneys searched the home themselves in December and found some classified materials, the president’s lawyers have said.

Biden’s team has not acknowledged the FBI’s search of the Penn Biden Center back in mid-November, which ABC reported.

While the contents of the dozens of documents discovered classified markings are still unclear, in a statement in mid-January, Richard Sauber, another lawyer to Biden, said: “We are confident that a thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and the President and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake.”

Biden has maintained he is cooperating fully with Justice Department authorities, but reporters have questioned whether the White House is being fully transparent on the matter.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has struggled at the podium when confronted with reporters’ questions as news continues to break around the classified documents drama ahead of the White House informing the public.

Classified documents were also taken from former President Donald Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago last summer, in a court-authorized FBI search, after what the government has called a months-long effort to get Trump to return all of the classified material he kept after leaving office. Trump denies wrongdoing.

Former Vice President Mike Pence’s lawyers recently did their own search of his Indiana home and found some classified records that he retained after leaving office, which he returned to the government, according to his attorneys. Pence said on Friday that it was a “mistake” and he was unaware the documents were there, but he took “full responsibility.”

Biden has largely declined to comment on the classified documents found at his home and office but has said he was “surprised” records were located at the Penn Biden Center.

ABC News’ Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(REHOBOTH BEACH, Del.) — The Department of Justice is conducting a “planned search” Wednesday of President Joe Biden’s home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, according to Biden’s personal lawyer.

“Today, with the President’s full support and cooperation, the DOJ is conducting a planned search of his home in Rehoboth, Delaware,” wrote Bob Bauer, personal attorney for the president, in a new statement. “Under DOJ’s standard procedures, in the interests of operational security and integrity, it sought to do this work without advance public notice, and we agreed to cooperate. The search today is a further step in a thorough and timely DOJ process we will continue to fully support and facilitate. We will have further information at the conclusion of today’s search.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Robert Hur as special counsel last month to investigate the potential mishandling of classified documents. Hur is expected to formally begin his work this week, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

“Under the regulations, the extraordinary circumstances here require a special counsel appointment for this matter,” Garland told the public.

After a November search of the Penn Biden Center in Washington, the FBI conducted a similarly voluntary search of Biden’s home in Wilmington last month and found additional classified documents after Biden’s attorneys searched the home themselves in December and found some classified materials, the president’s lawyers have said.

In a statement in mid-January, Richard Sauber, another lawyer to Biden, said: “We are confident that a thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and the President and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake.”

Biden has maintained he is cooperating fully with Justice Department authorities, but reporters have questioned whether the White House is being fully transparent on the matter.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has struggled at the podium when confronted with reporters’ questions as news continues to break around the classified documents drama ahead of the White House informing the public.

Classified documents were also taken from former President Donald Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago last summer, in a court-authorized FBI search, after what the government has called a months-long effort to get Trump to return all of the classified material he kept after leaving office. Trump denies wrongdoing.

Former Vice President Mike Pence’s lawyers recently did their own search of his Indiana home and found some classified records that he retained after leaving office, which he returned to the government, according to this attorneys. Pence said on Friday that it was a “mistake” and he was unaware the documents were there, but he took “full responsibility.”

Biden has largely declined to comment on the classified documents found at his home and office but has said he was “surprised” records were located at the Penn Biden Center.

ABC News’ Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — When President Joe Biden sits down with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the Oval Office Wednesday, he says he’ll tell the GOP leader: “Show me your budget; I’ll show you mine.”

The highly anticipated meeting, the first the two men will hold since McCarthy narrowly won the speakership last month, comes amid an ongoing standoff over the national debt limit.

The president told reporters Monday that would be his message for McCarthy, who has insisted on budget cuts in exchange for Republican support to lift the debt ceiling — and avoid a catastrophic default.

The White House has repeatedly said it would not negotiate with Republicans — that the stakes for the U.S. economy were too high, and that the limit had been raised 74 times before, including with Republican support under then-President Donald Trump.

But on Tuesday, the president suggested he was open to talking. Asked if he would negotiate with the speaker during Wednesday’s meeting, which is scheduled to take place at 3:15 p.m., Biden responded simply, “Show me his budget.”

The president has long cast himself as a dealmaker, eager to sit down with Republicans to reach bipartisan agreements. At a fundraiser in New York on Tuesday, Biden referred to McCarthy as “a decent man.”

But he has also lambasted congressional Republicans as “extreme” and said McCarthy had given in to that faction to take control.

“Look at what he had to do,” the president said Tuesday. “He had to make commitments that were just absolutely off the wall for a speaker of the House to make in terms of being able to become a leader.”

Responding to Biden’s comments at the fundraiser, McCarthy said, “apparently he doesn’t understand.”

“I’m looking forward to sitting down with the president negotiating for the American public — the people of America — on how we can find savings,” McCarthy said.

When asked if he planned to make Biden a specific offer, McCarthy said, “I think we’re gonna sit down and negotiate.”

That public posturing was only the latest salvo launched between the two men.

Earlier Tuesday, McCarthy told reporters that he was “willing to sit down” with Biden “and finally get this done long before the debt limit hits its point that we have to get something done.”

“Because why would you put the economics of America in jeopardy?” he said. “Why would you play political games?”

McCarthy has noted he and Biden had “met many times prior to him being president,” although “not as often as being president.”

He said Tuesday the White House should “say they’re willing to negotiate, because the only irresponsible way is to play a political game and say, we’re not going to talk about it. It sounds pretty childish to me.”

Earlier in the day, top White House officials wrote in a memo that Biden planned to pose two questions to McCarthy during the meeting.

The president is expected to ask McCarthy if he will “commit to the bedrock principle that the United States will never default on its financial obligations” and whether he agrees with “former presidents, including Presidents Trump and Reagan, that it is critical to avoid debt limit brinksmanship,” according to the memo, which was first obtained by ABC News.

The authors of the memo — the president’s top economic adviser, Brian Deese, and the director of the White House budget office, Shalanda Young — noted Biden planned to release a budget on March 9. They challenged McCarthy to do the same.

“It is essential,” they wrote, “that Speaker McCarthy likewise commit to releasing a budget, so that the American people can see how House Republicans plan to reduce the deficit – whether through Social Security cuts; cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Affordable Care Act (ACA) health coverage; and/or cuts to research, education, and public safety – as well as how much their Budget will add to the deficit with tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and large corporations, as in their first bill this year.”

In response, McCarthy wrote in a statement Tuesday: “Mr. President: I received your staff’s memo. I’m not interested in political games. I’m coming to negotiate for the American people.”

Republicans in the House have insisted on deep spending cuts in exchange for their cooperation on raising the debt ceiling.

The Republican Study Committee, which represents the largest group of Republicans in the House, previously called for revisions to Social Security and Medicare, including raising the age for Medicare to 67 and Social Security to the age of 70 for younger workers.

But McCarthy recently said any cuts to Social Security and Medicare would be “off the table.”

McCarthy pointed to the “Commitment to America” plan presented by Republicans before the midterms, which he said “strengthens” Medicare and Social Security. The White House has accused McCarthy of being “evasive” on his plan for government spending.

Pressed on what he meant by “strengthen” and whether he would seek to raise the retirement age — McCarthy said: “No, no, no. What I’m talking about Social Security, Medicare, you keep that to the side.”

“I want to find a reasonable and a responsible way that we can lift the debt ceiling but take control of this runaway spending,” McCarthy said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has expressed support for McCarthy.

“We’re all behind Kevin,” he said Tuesday. “Wishing him well in the negotiations.”

Meanwhile, the White House has repeatedly said Biden will not negotiate or compromise by tying a debt limit increase to spending cuts, with the administration pointing to the bipartisan history of the ceiling being increased by both parties over the years.

“Attempts to exploit the debt ceiling as leverage will not work,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters last month. “There will be no hostage taking.”

Earlier this month, McCarthy made it clear he was holding firm.

“For the president to say he wouldn’t even negotiate — that’s irresponsible. We’re going to be responsible. We’re going to be sensible, and we’re going to get this done together. So the longer he waits, the more he puts the fiscal jeopardy of America up for grabs,” McCarthy told ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott last month. “We should sit down and get this done and stop playing politics,” he added.

The debt limit doesn’t allow government spending on new programs — instead it allows the U.S. to borrow any money it needs to pay for the nation’s existing bills.

The federal government hit the current debt ceiling, about $31.4 trillion, earlier this month prompting the Treasury Department to step in with “extraordinary measures” which will allow the nation to avert a catastrophic default until June.

“President Biden will ask Speaker McCarthy to publicly assure the American people and the rest of the world that the United States will, as always, honor all of its financial obligations,” the memo stated.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Republicans on Wednesday will take their first opportunity of the new Congress to illustrate what they call a protracted migration crisis across the southwestern border caused by overly lax policies of the Biden administration.

“How many illegal aliens will cross the southern border this month?” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, who will lead a committing hearing, asked on Twitter last week.

To answer Jordan’s question: The number of illegal border crossings has recently declined, a data point that undermines the GOP narrative. This past week, according to the Department of Homeland Security, the pace of border apprehensions dropped to the lowest rate since February 2021 — to about 5,000 per day. That’s down from levels as high as 8,000 to 9,000 in December, according to DHS, and sources tell ABC News the downward trend continues to hold for now.

Regardless, Republicans are expected to continue deriding the administration over its latest efforts to pair a border crackdown with new, narrow pathways for certain migrants to seek relief.

A group of mostly-GOP led states has sued the administration over its latest parole program expansion which allows up to 30,000 vetted migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela to apply for temporary parole and a chance to seek more permanent humanitarian relief. Democrats have long supported pathways for asylum seekers with some saying more can be done to support those fleeing violence.

“We need to establish a safe and orderly way for people to be able to get processed and, and be able to seek asylum,” said Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, a member of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, which is planning its own border hearing later in February.

Along with the parole programs, Mexico has agreed to accept the return of up to 30,000 migrants from those four countries. For now, the administration is relying on the controversial Trump-era order under Title 42 of the U.S. health code which allows for the rapid expulsion of migrants from the border.

“I believe that expansion of Title 42 is something that is being implemented in order to slow Republican political attacks on immigrants and on the administration,” Casar said. “I think that’s a mistake.”

Whether Title 42 is in fact expanded will depend on migrants continuing to attempt unauthorized border crossings. Given the message sent by an enhanced enforcement posture, combined with the opportunity to seek admission away from the border, the declines seen so far in January are an encouraging sign for the Biden administration.

Wednesday’s hearing will feature Judge Dale Lynn Carruthers of Terrell County, Texas, who has likened the historic level of unauthorized migration across the southwest to an “invasion.”

Far-right extremists have towed a similar line. Authorities documented anti-immigrant motivations and “invasion” rhetoric in connection with 2019 El Paso Walmart shooter Patrick Crusius, who killed 23 people and wounded dozens more. Crusius said he traveled to El Paso to stop what he called “the Hispanic invasion” of Texas.

Another committee witness, Mark Dannels, Sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona, has called the Biden administration’s approach to immigration policy “open borders by design” regardless of the continued implementation of Title 42.

Despite progress made to reduce illegal crossings, a growing number of migrants have been turning to the seas — showing up in south Florida. Seasonal weather patterns and storms in the Caribbean can slow migration temporarily and may indicate a false sign of progress.

This week the Biden administration announced the upcoming formal end of the COVID-19 health emergency. After attempting to repeal Title 42 border expulsion order, the Biden administration has been blocked by groups of GOP-led states from fully repealing the emergency policy.

The broader end of the government’s pandemic emergency declaration could serve as another attempt at rescinding the policy that has received significant criticism from the left. Immigrant advocates deride the administration for continuing to implement a program which allows for the sharp curtailment of humanitarian protections for migrants across Central and South America fleeing targeted violence.

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(WASHINGTON) — Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is expected to announce her run for president in the coming weeks, sources familiar tell ABC News.

The announcement is likely to come mid-February, and invitations are expected to be sent to her supporters in the coming days, according to sources familiar.

Haley, who served as former President Donald Trump’s U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, previously said she would not run against Trump.

The former governor has since backed away from those comments, calling for a new generation of leadership.

Just days ago, Trump told reporters he recently received a phone call from Haley.

“She called me and said she’d like consider it and I said you should do it,” Trump told reporters over the weekend.

ABC News has reached out to Haley’s team for comment.

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(WASHINGTON) — The FBI searched the Penn Biden Center in November soon after President Joe Biden’s lawyers reported finding classified documents at a former office he used there, according to three sources familiar with the situation.

It is unclear if the FBI found any additional documents during the search, which was done in coordination with Biden’s lawyers, sources said.

According to one source, the FBI checked the center to make sure all Biden-related documents were recovered.

The White House, Justice Department and FBI declined to comment.

CBS News first reported the FBI search.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — President Joe Biden hit the road again Tuesday as part of a multi-day pitch to Americans on the benefits of the bipartisan infrastructure law passed last year, stopping Tuesday in New York City to tout funding for the Gateway Hudson Tunnel Project.

“This is just the beginning,” Biden said, as he described how the law was transforming American infrastructure. “It’s the beginning of finally constructing a 21st century rail system that’s long, long overdue in this country. This project is critical to transforming the Northeast Corridor, increasing speeds, capacity, reliability and safety.”

From the West Side Rail Yard, Biden announced $292 million in funding from the infrastructure law Tuesday to complete a critical early phase of the Hudson Tunnel Project intended to improve travel between New York and New Jersey.

The project “will result in 72,000 good-paying jobs, rehabilitate the old North River Tunnel which opened in 1910, build a new tunnel beneath the Palisades, Hudson River, and the waterfront area in Manhattan, and improve reliability for 200,000-weekday passengers on New Jersey Transit and Amtrak,” according to the White House.

So far, the Biden administration has announced over $185 billion in funding from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, the White House told ABC News. That money is going to over 7,000 projects — ranging from building and repairing roads, bridges, ports, and airports; to investing in clean energy and clean water; cleaning up legacy pollution; and funding access to high-speed internet — and by end of the year, the administration expects the total number of projects to far exceed 20,000, according to the White House.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, joining Biden in his home state Tuesday, mocked former President Donald Trump for being unable to achieve the same. If Biden runs for reelection, as he’s expected to do, he could again face Trump — the only Republican candidate to so far declare candidacy.

“For four years, the former president was shoveling you know what, and now we’re going to put real shovels in the ground, wielded by real American workers. That’s the basic contrast between this presidency in the last,” a smiling Schumer said. “Get on the Joe Biden express now because we are not stopping.”

Introducing Biden, Schumer called the president “Mr. Amtrak.”

“This is one of the biggest most consequential projects in the country,” Biden said, tempering expectations. “But it’s going to take time. It’s a multi-billion-dollar effort between the states and the federal government but we finally have the money and we’re going to get it done. I promise you, we’re going to get it done.”

The trip to tout rail infrastructure comes after a similar appearance Monday in Baltimore and one week before Biden’s State of the Union — the first time Biden will address a joint session of Congress with the newly-empowered Republican majority in the House.

Biden, who commuted daily between Wilmington and Washington as a senator, said he’s traveled more than one million miles on Amtrak and understands how the economy runs stronger when transportation runs on time.

“To have the best economy in the world, you have to have the best infrastructure in the world,” he added.

In New York, Biden was joined by Gov. Kathy Hochul, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Bob Menendez, and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, and other local leaders.

Biden visited Baltimore on Monday to kick off a $6 billion rail tunnel reconstruction project primarily funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law; federal funding could reach up to $4.7 billion, according to the White House. The new tunnel will replace the aging Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, and remove what the White House says is the largest bottleneck between New Jersey and Washington, D.C.

He and Vice President Kamala Harris plan to travel to Philadelphia on Friday to discuss removing lead pipes – another initiative funded by the infrastructure law — to cap off a week highlighting federal investments in infrastructure.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden is expected to pose two questions to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during a Wednesday meeting and will challenge him to commit to avoiding a catastrophic default and unveil a specific, detailed and comprehensive budget, according to a White House memo obtained first by ABC News.

The highly anticipated meeting comes amid an ongoing standoff over the debt limit.

According to the memo, the president is expected to ask McCarthy if he will “commit to the bedrock principle that the United States will never default on its financial obligations” and whether he agrees with “former presidents, including Presidents Trump and Reagan, that it is critical to avoid debt limit brinksmanship.”

The memo — written by senior advisers Brian Deese and Shalanda Young — notes President Biden will release a budget on March 9 and challenges McCarthy to do the same.

“It is essential that Speaker McCarthy likewise commit to releasing a budget, so that the American people can see how House Republicans plan to reduce the deficit – whether through Social Security cuts; cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Affordable Care Act (ACA) health coverage; and/or cuts to research, education, and public safety – as well as how much their Budget will add to the deficit with tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and large corporations, as in their first bill this year.”

McCarthy responded to the memo in a statement on Tuesday, writing: “Mr. President: I received your staff’s memo. I’m not interested in political games. I’m coming to negotiate for the American people.”

Republicans in the House have insisted on deep spending cuts in exchange for their cooperation on raising the debt ceiling.

The Republican Study Committee, which represents the largest group of Republicans in the House, previously called for revisions to Social Security and Medicare including raising the age for Medicare to 67 and Social Security to the age of 70 for younger workers.

But McCarthy recently said any cuts to Social Security and Medicare would be “off the table.”

McCarthy pointed to the “Commitment to America” plan presented by Republicans before the midterms, which he said “strengthens” Medicare and Social Security. The White House has accused McCarthy of being “evasive” on his plan for government spending.

Pressed on what he meant by “strengthen” and whether he would seek to raise the retirement age — McCarthy said: “No, no, no. What I’m talking about Social Security, Medicare, you keep that to the side.”

“I want to find a reasonable and a responsible way that we can lift the debt ceiling but take control of this runaway spending,” McCarthy said.

Meanwhile, the White House has repeatedly said Biden will not negotiate or compromise by tying a debt limit increase to spending cuts, with the administration pointing to the bipartisan history of the ceiling being increased by both parties over the years.

“Attempts to exploit the debt ceiling as leverage will not work,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters earlier this month. “There will be no hostage taking.”

Earlier this month, McCarthy made it clear he was holding firm.

“For the president to say he wouldn’t even negotiate — that’s irresponsible. We’re going to be responsible. We’re going to be sensible, and we’re going to get this done together. So the longer he waits, the more he puts the fiscal jeopardy of America up for grabs,” McCarthy told ABC News’ Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott earlier this month. “We should sit down and get this done and stop playing politics,” he added.

The debt limit doesn’t allow government spending on new programs — instead it allows the U.S. to borrow any money it needs to pay for the nation’s existing bills.

The federal government hit the current debt ceiling, about $31.4 trillion earlier this month prompting the Treasury Department to step in with “extraordinary measures” which will allow the nation to avert a catastrophic default until June.

“President Biden will ask Speaker McCarthy to publicly assure the American people and the rest of the world that the United States will, as always, honor all of its financial obligations,” the memo states.

Editor’s note: This article has been revised to reflect an updated memo released by the administration.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Embattled GOP Rep. George Santos told House Republicans during a closed door meeting on Tuesday that he would recuse himself from sitting on any committees, multiple sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

Santos was recently assigned two committees — the House Small Business Committee and the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.

Leaving the House Republican meeting, Speaker Kevin McCarthy confirmed that Santos said he would recuse himself from committees but indicated if he were to fill the committee seats, it would be on a temporary basis.

“If I fill them it will be on a temporary basis. He’ll be able to get committees back once he’s cleared,” McCarthy said.

A spokesperson for Santos’ office told ABC News, “The congressman is reserving his seats on his assigned committees until he has been properly cleared of both campaign and personal financial investigations.”

Santos was elected in November to represent New York’s 3rd Congressional District but by the time he was sworn in, he was under a cloud of controversy for fabricating much of his resume. He now also faces several investigations into his campaign’s finances.

McCarthy reiterated that the House Ethics Committee will have questions about many of those concerns and once he answers those questions he may be able to be seated on committees.

“I think it was an appropriate decision that until he can clear everything up he’s off the committees,” McCarthy said, adding that they discussed the matter during a meeting on Monday.

McCarthy wouldn’t say explicitly whether he encouraged Santos to step aside from his committee assignments but told reporters, “I think we had a good discussion inside the meeting” and said Santos found this decision was the best way forward.

Santos was assigned to the two House panels earlier this month despite calls for his resignation by Democrats and at least seven Republicans.

McCarthy has declined to join calls for Santos to step down, stating he will treat him like any other member of the House.

“I will hold him to the same standard I hold anyone else elected to Congress,” McCarthy told reporters last week. “If he has broken the law then we will remove him, but it is not my role. I believe in the rule of law.”

Santos’ committee assignments were also the subject of scrutiny given McCarthy blocked Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell from serving on the House Intelligence Committee. McCarthy is also seeking to remove Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Santos himself has remained defiant against stepping down.

When asked by ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott Tuesday if he was now considering resigning, he replied, “No, I’m not.”

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