President Joe Biden criticized House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Republicans on Sunday for bringing the country to the brink of a government shutdown by refusing to negotiate in good faith.
“We shouldn’t have gotten here in the first place,” Biden said in a speech at the White House. “It’s time to end governing by crisis.”
Congress narrowly avoided a shutdown on Saturday evening by passing a stopgap funding bill that will keep the government open for 45 days. However, the bill does not include funding for Ukraine, one of Biden’s top priorities.
“I hope my friends on the other side keep their word about support for Ukraine,” Biden said.
Biden blamed McCarthy for the shutdown crisis, saying that he had reneged on a budget agreement they had made in May.
“The speaker suddenly reversed course and called up a bill that abandoned the border policies and spending cuts he promised to include,” Biden said.
Biden said that he signed the stopgap bill to avoid a shutdown, but that he would continue to fight for funding for Ukraine.
