The Playbook Podcast

Feb. 1, 2023: Why you shouldn't expect much from the Biden-McCarthy summit


Listen Later

President Joe Biden and Rep. Kevin McCarthy are scheduled to meet today in the Oval Office at 3:15 p.m.

Keep your expectations in check. 

“Boring,” a top White House official said, when we asked about the first one-on-one session between the president and new House speaker. “First meeting of a hundred to follow.”

McCarthy has set a similarly low bar. “I think the first thing he should do,” McCarthy told reporters on Tuesday, “especially as president of the United States, is say he’s willing to sit down and find a common ground and negotiate together.”

The White House released a memo setting its own limited priorities for the meeting, saying Biden will pose two questions to McCarthy today:

  • “Will the Speaker commit to the bedrock principle that the United States will never default on its financial obligations…?”
  • “When will Speaker McCarthy and House Republicans release their Budget?”
  • Playbook co-author Rachael Bade stops by to explain what she'll be watching for when Biden and McCarthy meet later today.

    Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletter

    Raghu Manavalan is the host and senior editor of POLITICO's Playbook Daily Briefing.
    Jenny Ament is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    The Playbook PodcastBy POLITICO

    • 3.9
    • 3.9
    • 3.9
    • 3.9
    • 3.9

    3.9

    664 ratings


    More shows like The Playbook Podcast

    View all
    The NPR Politics Podcast by NPR

    The NPR Politics Podcast

    25,864 Listeners

    The Political Scene | The New Yorker by The New Yorker

    The Political Scene | The New Yorker

    4,042 Listeners

    POLITICO's Off Message by POLITICO

    POLITICO's Off Message

    609 Listeners

    The Conversation with Dasha Burns by POLITICO

    The Conversation with Dasha Burns

    1,508 Listeners

    POLITICO's Pulse Check by POLITICO

    POLITICO's Pulse Check

    453 Listeners

    Pod Save America by Crooked Media

    Pod Save America

    87,370 Listeners

    The Daily by The New York Times

    The Daily

    112,586 Listeners

    Power Play by POLITICO

    Power Play

    963 Listeners

    Women Rule by POLITICO

    Women Rule

    307 Listeners

    EU Confidential by POLITICO

    EU Confidential

    101 Listeners

    Radio Atlantic by The Atlantic

    Radio Atlantic

    2,335 Listeners

    POLITICO Money by POLITICO

    POLITICO Money

    206 Listeners

    Interesting Times with Ross Douthat by New York Times Opinion

    Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

    7,224 Listeners

    Post Reports by The Washington Post

    Post Reports

    5,453 Listeners

    The Bulwark Podcast by The Bulwark

    The Bulwark Podcast

    12,545 Listeners

    Hacks On Tap by Vox Media

    Hacks On Tap

    8,051 Listeners

    POLITICO Energy by POLITICO

    POLITICO Energy

    138 Listeners

    POLITICO Tech by POLITICO

    POLITICO Tech

    390 Listeners

    Westminster Insider by POLITICO

    Westminster Insider

    38 Listeners

    The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

    The Ezra Klein Show

    16,096 Listeners

    The Daily Punch by Punchbowl News

    The Daily Punch

    717 Listeners

    POLITICO Berlin Playbook by POLITICO

    POLITICO Berlin Playbook

    11 Listeners

    The Opinions by The New York Times Opinion

    The Opinions

    618 Listeners