House progressives slam McCarthy spending cut proposals amid debt ceiling standoff

House progressives have railed against proposed cuts to federal spending that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has demanded as part of his negotiations with President Joe Biden over raising the debt ceiling.

The nation hit its $31.38 trillion debt limit earlier this year, prompting Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to announce "extraordinary measures" to keep the government afloat. Democrats have advocated for a clean increase of the federal debt limit while Republicans have sought to match any such increase with spending cuts to address the mounting national debt.

McCarthy met with Biden in early February and sounded an optimistic tone after the pair's first meeting, expressing confidence that lawmakers could reach a deal. On Tuesday, he again reiterated his calls, warning that "[t]he greatest threat to our future is our national debt," The Hill reported.

But some key lawmakers in the lower chamber remain sour on the prospect for compromise, demanding McCarthy provide greater detail or simply rejecting the idea at a conceptual level.

"If he's going to be serious on those parameters, he needs to tell us exactly what he's going to cut. Because if you're taking defense and Social Security and Medicare off the table, you're going to have to go very, very deep into those remaining parts of the budget," said Democratic California Rep. Jared Huffman, per the outlet.

Other far-left House members have pointed to alternative means of addressing the debt crisis, contending that spending cuts may not be the only remedy for federal financial woes.

"These people are such hypocrites. They don't care about the deficit; they don't care about debt. Every Republican president has increased the deficit, but the thing is, what have they used it for? They've used it to give tax cuts to the wealthiest," Democratic Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal said Tuesday, The Hill reported. "You could raise $300 billion in revenue by taxing billionaires. And why wouldn't you do that, if you're really interested in any path forward that doesn't hurt people?"

While the minority in the lower chamber, progressive Democrats are more likely to offer stalwart resistance in the Senate, where their party controls the majority.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.