Biden, McCarthy have ‘productive’ debt ceiling talk, Tim Scott eyes White House: 5 Things podcast

On today’s episode of the 5 Things podcast: Biden, McCarthy have ‘productive’ debt ceiling meeting

President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy had a ‘productive’ debt ceiling meeting, but still don’t have a deal. Plus, USA TODAY White House Correspondent Joey Garrison reports, Sen. Tom Carper will retire, Sen. Tim Scott runs for president, the NAACP issues a travel advisory for Florida, and USA TODAY Sports Senior Producer Larry Berger talks about a historic baseball park in New Jersey.

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Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I’m Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Tuesday, the 23rd of May 2023. Today we check in with the debt ceiling talks. Plus, a new candidate enters the Republican presidential field and we hear about a historic baseball park in New Jersey.

Another day without a deal on the debt ceiling, that’s despite what appeared to be a productive meeting between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy yesterday. I spoke with USA TODAY White House Correspondent Joey Garrison for more. Howdy, Joey.

Joey Garrison:

Hey Taylor. Thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

Thanks for coming back on. So you wrote that President Joe Biden has been ramping up his rhetoric in this debt ceiling fight. He obviously met with McCarthy again on Monday. What did the latest chapter in these tensions look like on Monday?

Joey Garrison:

President Biden and Speaker McCarthy both said they had a productive meeting, but it was unclear exactly in which areas they made headway on. McCarthy still pointed to spending cuts, whether it’s expanded work requirements to be eligible for certain welfare programs and other spending caps that Republicans want. He’s still digging into those and refusing a proposal by the White House to increase tax revenue by increasing taxes on the wealthiest Americans and corporations. But they did say it was a productive meeting and they think that they can get something done, but there’s still no deal yet.

Taylor Wilson:

And what seems to be the biggest sticking point at this point?

Joey Garrison:

Well, I mean, I mentioned two of them. One is the expanded work requirements for welfare programs like food stamps. Another is annual spending caps that Republicans want. They’ve are pushing for six years of those annual caps that would effectively limit budgets in future years. The White House is only willing to give two years. So that’s one major disagreement right there. I’ve learned that through reporting that when it comes to rescinding COVID-19 funds that Republicans want, I think that the White House can get on board with most of that. And also I think there’s a lot of room for compromise that they found on reform for drilling permitting. And so that’s another area that’s been a sticking point. So really it comes with those spending cuts, that cap on annual spending that is probably the biggest hold up right now.

Taylor Wilson:

And Joey, you wrote that the White House has been pushing its own democratic agenda in recent days. What’s the latest on that side of things?

Joey Garrison:

Yeah, so throughout these discussions, I mean, the debate has focused in, zeroed in on Republicans’ terms. I mean, we’re talking about each of those four things I mentioned in terms of spending cuts. I mean those are all things Republicans want and it’s really kind of put the White House, put Biden on his heels. What we saw on Sunday during a press conference he had when he was at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan was he’s really going on the offensive more calling some of these cuts that Republicans have pushed as extreme positions, unacceptable for a deal. And I think he’s trying to hold his ground here.

He’s faced criticism from some Democrats in Congress saying that he’s caving too much in these talks. I think he was really trying to set out to draw a line here and kind of reestablish himself in these talks during this critical moment. I mean, they need to get a deal soon, this week, in order to get something approved by June 1st when the country is currently on track to run out of money. And so to avoid a default, something’s got to get done sooner than later here.

Taylor Wilson:

And the 14th Amendment has popped up again in recent days. Biden said it, he believes it gives him the authority to bypass Congress and get around the debt ceiling.

Joey Garrison:

He took a step further on Sunday by flatly saying he thinks he has that authority. I mean, in the past he said, well, it’s possible he does. There’s lots of legal constitutional law scholars who believes he does well. He’s crossed another bridge here by saying he does have that authority, but he’s still raising concerns that, yeah, if he were to just have the treasury continue issuing debt to pay its financial obligations, then he would be welcoming litigation that would try to hold that up and it could get really thorny with that June 1st deadline. So that’s still the consideration there. But I don’t think the president by accident just says that he thinks he has that authority. The fact that he’s not ruling it out, I mean, I think is pretty telling that it could be an option if things aren’t resolved. I mean it’s, again, I still think it would be a long shot because of those legal considerations, but we’re in a situation where the fact that he says that he thinks he has that authority, I mean that raises eyebrows there.

Taylor Wilson:

And I mean, you mentioned it Joey, the clock keeps ticking louder and louder as we get closer and closer to that June 1st date. What’s next this week as we inch closer to June 1st?

Joey Garrison:

Well, McCarthy told reporters that he believes he’s going to be talking, communicating with the president every day until a deal gets done. So I think, I bet this wasn’t the last time that they have a in-person meeting. Wouldn’t be surprised if there’s another. The two negotiating teams for both the speaker and the president sat down to meet after the one-on-one meeting between McCarthy and Biden, so they’re pretty much working around the clock to try to get this done. And I think it’s just a matter of the White House, the Democrats are going to come back with a proposal based on what they heard from McCarthy in this meeting, and we’ll see if it gets it done.

Again, McCarthy is talking about he wants the budget in 2024 to be smaller than the previous year, a budget reduction, and he’s drawing a pretty hard line on that. So is that going to be something the White House supports? I mean, the White House is pushing back at the fact that, well, Republicans want to have increased defense spending, so you can’t increase defense spending and then decrease overall spending. So these are some pretty fundamental challenges that are holding this up right now. Again, all surrounding that argument by Republicans to use this moment to decrease spending.

Taylor Wilson:

All right. Joey Garrison, thanks so much.

Joey Garrison:

Hey, thanks Taylor.

Taylor Wilson:

Longtime US Senator Tom Carper will retire next year. He’s been in statewide Delaware public office since 1977, serving as Delaware Treasurer, Congressman, Governor and Senator. And he helped establish the state Democrats’ ideology of socially liberal but center on economic and fiscal issues. His announcement now opens up a Senate seat in 2024.

Tim Scott is running for president. The lone Black Republican senator declared his campaign yesterday by saying he can revive a nation that’s receding from greatness.

Sen. Tim Scott:

They’re attacking our American values, our schools, our economy, and our security, but not on my watch.

Taylor Wilson:

He also went directly after President Joe Biden saying that under him, our nation, “is retreating away from patriotism and faith.” Scott joins an expanding field of GOP contenders looking to knock out front-runner Donald Trump. In a post to his Truth Social platform, Trump wished Scott good luck, and added, “Tim is a big step up from Ron DeSanctimonious, who is totally unelectable.” The post was a reference to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who may enter the race as soon as next week. In planning their campaigns, Scott and his team see the race as a marathon and say they’re confident despite hovering around 2% in primary pools. One advantage Scott brings to the table is fundraising. He’s put away some $22 million in campaign cash, and his aides say that’s the most of any presidential candidate in US history.

The NAACP has issued a travel advisory for Florida. The advisory claims that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ policies are undemocratic and openly hostile to people who identify as LGBTQ. In the advisory, the NAACP blasted what it called DeSantis’ aggressive attempts to erase Black history and to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools, as we’ve talked about previously here on the show. For his part, the governor’s press secretary called the move a stunt. The governor’s office responded similarly, when the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, issued a travel advisory a few days ago. And last month the LGBTQ Civil Rights Group, Equality Florida, and the Florida Immigrant Coalition warned people away from the state. The travel advisories could be significant in a state where tourism is king. More than 137 million tourists visited the state last year, and DeSantis announced last week that Florida experienced record tourism in the first quarter of this year.

[Sound of a baseball bat hitting a ball.]

After nearly 80 years, the crack of a baseball bat returned to the bleachers on Sunday at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, New Jersey, reopening a time capsule of baseball history. More than 20 members of the Baseball Hall of Fame played on the field and it was especially known as a venue for Negro League games. I spoke with USA TODAY Sports Senior Producer Larry Berger to learn more. Thanks for hopping on 5 Things, Larry.

Larry Berger:

Sure Taylor, thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

Can you just start by telling our listeners a bit about the history behind Hinchliffe Stadium?

Larry Berger:

The history is incredible. The Negro Leagues played there starting 90 years ago, and no game has been played there since 1945. The biggest names in baseball history played there. 20 players that are in the Baseball Hall of Fame played there. It’s the location where Larry Doby who broke the color barrier in the American League, that’s where he was found after a tryout. He also started as a football player there. The history is incredible. Josh Gibson, one of the greatest power hitters in the history of baseball, that’s where he hit home runs. And Cool Papa Bell, who was one of the fastest players in the Negro Leagues, he stole bases there, presumably. Satchel Paige played there. It’s just a place with such a remarkable history. And now, after being forgotten about in 1996 and being overrun by weeds and broken glass, it’s now back. And after $102 million refurbishment of the stadium and surrounding area, it’s back, it’s beautiful and baseball is being played there once again.

Taylor Wilson:

Larry, how does the renovated stadium honor its Negro League past?

Larry Berger:

It honors the past because the accoutrements are all period appropriate. The stands are exactly in the locations that they once were, they’re just upgraded, fresh paint everywhere. You could tell something special was there and you could tell this is an old stadium, but it’s beautiful. Everything is clean, everything is new. It’s almost like when you watch a movie about the Negro Leagues, this is what you would see. So it’s a very special place that should be on the bucket list of baseball enthusiasts all over the country.

Taylor Wilson:

Donna Muscarella and her brother Anthony were unofficially the first paying customers to enter the stadium for the home opener. Donna said that this is more than a baseball story. It’s a story about the American dream. What do you think she meant by that, Larry?

Larry Berger:

It is a story of the American dream. These players in the Negro Leagues, they played for the love of the game. It was just something very special to them. It remains special to baseball fans, but they weren’t making a lot of money. They were told no, that they could not play in Major League Baseball. The perseverance that they showed and had such a successful league, the Negro Leagues for so many years, it really is a testament to their will, to their desire to play no matter what obstacle. Baseball is such a part of Americana, and the Negro Leagues played such an integral role in making baseball what it is today.

Taylor Wilson:

So Larry, there were some high profile guests at the refurbished stadium’s unveiling. Who else did you talk with and what was their reaction?

Larry Berger:

Sure. At the ribbon cutting ceremony was Harold Reynolds, MLB network host. Whoopi Goldberg was there. Senator Cory Booker was there. Willie Randolph, who starred for so many years with the New York Yankees was there. In doing this article for USA TODAY, I spoke with so many different people and every one of them seemed to have a different goal. The leadership of the city want this to be an economic boom. Players, they just want to win so they can get promoted to affiliated baseball. It seemed like there was a lot of different ways in which each would deem this a success, but they all referred back to history and avoiding the wrecking ball for this gorgeous relic of baseball history. So everybody wants something different from the year, but they all come together in saying that it’s a wonderful thing that this Hinchliffe Stadium is back, it looks great, and will be something that people of Paterson are and will be proud of for many years to come.

Taylor Wilson:

Larry Berger, great info for us. Thanks so much.

Larry Berger:

Thank you Taylor.

Taylor Wilson:

Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us every day of the week right here, wherever you get your podcasts. And if you have any comments, you can reach us at podcasts@usatoday.com. I’m back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘Productive’ debt ceiling talk, Scott runs for president: 5 Things podcast

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