Biden Trying to "Run Out Clock' on Debt Ceiling Bill: Scalise

President Joe Biden is "clearly trying to run out the clock and create a debt crisis" rather than negotiate with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over raising the nation's debt ceiling to avoid a government default, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Sunday.

"That's irresponsible," the Louisiana Republican told ABC "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz. "We just passed a bill through the House, and we've been very vocal. It's been over two months since President Biden has sat down with Speaker McCarthy to have negotiations."

Biden, he added, has "been in hiding for two months. That's not acceptable to Americans."

The national government hit its debt limit earlier this year, Scalise added, and since then has needed "extraordinary measures" to keep paying its bills.

The House bill would, if passed, raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion while reducing government spending, including by reversing some key Biden-backed policies, and is likely dead in the water at the Senate or headed for a certain Biden veto.

Biden has insisted that the debt ceiling be raised without the spending cuts included in McCarthy's legislation and that the budget be taken on separately, but Scalise said Sunday the matters are linked.

"As we're addressing the debt limit, we also have to address the problem that got us here," he said. "If the president is going to sit this one out, we're not, we're going to lead…It's time now for the president to get in this game, get off the sidelines and let's start negotiating and figuring this out. Not in June when we get to the midnight hour, but today."

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says "extraordinary measures" will be exhausted sometime after June, even when a definite date isn't clear, and lawmakers are agreeing that it will not be acceptable for the country to default.

"You know what the consequences would be for your viewers in our country if we were to default, and that's what this is really about," Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said in a separate interview on the program, adding that he would be happy to negotiate.

Scalise, though, insisted that the GOP legislation includes "basic, commonsense" provisions, including work requirements for federal aid recipients, but pushed back at Coons and others who warn the bill will harm veterans.

"Show me in the bill where it says any of those things. It doesn't," he said. "The president doesn't want to talk about what's in the bill because, ultimately, we do things like reclaim unspent COVID money."

Scalise also on Sunday touched on the 2024 GOP primary, but did not back any specific candidate, including former President Donald Trump, telling Raddatz that the party must choose "a strong leader who's going to focus on getting our country back on track."