In just six months, House Republicans may have their first major budget showdown with the Democratic Senate and Democratic President Joe Biden as they engage in a power struggle regarding the debt ceiling.

Republicans have consistently demanded that spending cuts accompany an increase in the debt ceiling to cut down on future deficits.

Democrats have derided Republicans for the proposal, which has at times led to government shutdowns, saying that they are holding the government hostage over partisan politics.

This week, Biden demanded a ‘clean’ debt ceiling hike that is not attached to any spending cuts.

McCarthy objected, saying that he wants to negotiate with the President in an attempt to cut spending before the budget fight leads to a potential government shutdown.

The Epoch Times Reports–

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) rejected President Joe Biden’s demand that Congress increase the nation’s debt ceiling without attaching any conditions such as the spending cuts that virtually all congressional Republicans are demanding.

In an informal news conference with reporters just outside the Capitol, McCarthy said “we’re six months away, approximately, and what I would like to do is sit down with all the leaders, especially the President, and start having the discussion.”

The Speaker said Biden’s refusal to discuss anything other than a “clean” increase in the debt ceiling, which limits federal borrowing, is “a sign of arrogance that he would say he wouldn’t even discuss it. I mean think about what the Democrats have done just in four years, they’ve increased discretionary spending by 30 percent. When Republicans were in control for eight years, discretionary spending didn’t go up one dollar.”