Biden Renews Call to Raise Debt Ceiling Without ‘Preconditions’

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (R) and U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) listen as U.S. President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 7, 2023. Kevin Dietsch/AFP via Getty Images

President Joe Biden renewed his call for House Republicans to raise the nation’s debt ceiling with no insistence on spending cuts during his State of the Union address on Feb. 7.

The president elicited jeers from Republicans during the speech when he suggested that GOP lawmakers intend to “take the economy hostage” in negotiations over the debt ceiling and that some planned to sunset Social Security and Medicare every five years.