GOP Representative Byron Donalds of Florida clashed with NBC’s Chuck Todd on Sunday’s “Meet the Press” while debating “extra IRS agents” and debt limit negotiations.
Todd queried Donalds about President Donald Trump’s remarks on 2019 debt negotiations, and Donalds argued that when former President Trump was negotiating the debt ceiling with Democrat Representative Nancy Pelosi, “our economy was thriving” and “our debt levels were not where they are right now.”
“Now you have $32 trillion on the credit card, and all House Republicans are saying is let’s go back to pre-pandemic spending; that’s commonsense stuff,” said Donalds.
“They want fewer IRS agents and fewer attempts to properly get tax receipts into the federal government’s coffers. I have never understood the resistance of extra IRS agents unless you knowingly cheat on your taxes,” said Todd. Donalds responded, “That’s salacious, and you know that.”
“Most Americans by far pay their taxes and do it honorably; what House Republicans, frankly the Republican Party, is concerned about is having IRS agents go after middle-class families and small business owners. When you have that many more agents, it’s not to go after the rich. It’s to go after middle class. That’s what it’s for,” said Donalds.
Todd pushed back, adding, “If you are paying what you are supposed to pay, then you should have nothing to fear.”
“You would make the assumption that IRS audits are up, that they’re putting more liens on the American people. That’s not true. That data is not there. All Joe Biden is trying to find out every possible nickel out of every couch of every American to pay for his spending,” said Donalds.
McCarthy accused Biden of pivoting on debt negotiations
Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy accused the president of pivoting on Sunday’s debt negotiations.
“Now, the president, even though he was overseas, thought to change places…I don’t understand that. For 97 days, he ignored me. We were in a good place. He goes overseas, and now he wants to change the debate,” said the speaker to Maria Bartiromo. “That’s not healthy. We still have to pass a bill before the House and the Senate, and we only have 11 days to go.”
McCarthy added, “The president has really shifted right after the more progressive socialist wing of the party stood up and says they want to spend more money. He’s now bringing something to the table that everyone said was off the table. It seems as though he wants default more than he wants a deal. That’s not where I’m at, and the one thing you know…about me, Maria, I will never give up.”
President Biden accused “MAGA Republicans” of unraveling debt talks during the end of the Hiroshima summit press conference, citing the impasse as an effort to derail his 2024 presidential re-election effort.
“On the merits, based on what I’ve offered, I would be blameless,” said Biden. “On the politics of it, no one would be blameless. And by the way, that’s one of the, one of the things some [people] are contemplating; well, I gotta be careful here. I think there are some MAGA Republicans in the House who know the damage that it would do to the economy, and because I am president, and presidents are responsible for everything, Biden would take the blame. And that’s the one way to make sure Biden’s not re-elected.”
