Republican Rep. Byron Donalds clashes with NBC's Chuck Todd over debt negotiations
Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, Fla., clashed with NBC's Chuck Todd over debt negotiations and IRS agents on Sunday during "Meet the Press."
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., clashed with NBC's Chuck Todd on Sunday during "Meet the Press" while debating debt limit negotiations and "extra IRS agents."
Todd asked Donalds about former President Donald Trump's remarks on debt negotiations in 2019 and Donalds argued that when Trump was negotiating the debt ceiling with Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., "our economy was thriving" and that "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," Donalds said.
"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," Todd said.
Rep. Byron Donalds joins NBC's Chuck Todd on Sunday during "Meet the Press." (Screenshot/NBC/MeetThePress)
Donalds responded and said, "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," Donalds said.
Todd pushed back and added that, "if you are paying what you are supposed 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 of every possible nickel out of every couch of every American to pay for his spending," Donalds said.
Rep. Byron Donalds speaks during a House Oversight and Accountability Committee business meeting in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 31, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
HOUSE DEMOCRATS BEGIN 'HAIL MARY' ATTEMPT TO GO AROUND SPEAKER MCCARTHY AND RAISE THE DEBT LIMIT
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., accused President Biden of pivoting on the debt negotiations on Sunday.
"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," McCarthy told 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."
"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," McCarthy added. "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."
Speaker Kevin McCarthy talks to reporters after the Republican majority in the House narrowly passed a sweeping debt ceiling package, at the Capitol, April 26, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Biden accused "MAGA Republicans" of unraveling debt talks during his press conference from Hiroshima at the close of the summit, citing it as an effort to derail his 2024 re-election effort.
"On the merits, based on what I've offered, I would be blameless," Biden said. "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."
Fox News' Bailee Hill contributed to this report.
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