McCarthy Says Work Requirements Are "Red Line" In Debt Limit Negotiations

Emily Brooks at the Hill tweets: "Red line alert Speaker McCarthy just said 'yes,' work requirements are a red line for him in debt ceiling negotiations."

• McCarthy comments throw in doubt the prospect that White House talks today can produce a deal which can be accepted by either Democrats or Republicans.
• On Sunday, President Biden appeared to concede that stricter work requirements for accessing federals welfare programmes may be on the table in negotiations but that met with immediate blowback from progressive Democrats.
• Punchbowl News reported that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) "forcefully pushed back" on work requirement during internal meetings yesterday.
• Biden then appeared to backtrack and issued a statement on social media confirming he wouldn’t accept new work requirements for SNAP.
• Influential Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) told Politico yesterday: “We did not elect Joe Biden of 1986. We elected Joe Biden of 2020,” and called stricter work requirements, “a nonstarter for many of us across the Democratic caucus.”