Joe Biden’s fundraising trip calls attention to vulnerable New York Republicans amid debt ceiling battle

President Joe Biden’s New York fundraising trip is bringing attention to vulnerable congressional Republicans this week as the debt ceiling deadline nears.

His visit is slated for Wednesday, the day after his long-awaited meeting with congressional leaders to discuss the debt limit, and it will take place in Rep. Mike Lawler’s (R-NY) congressional district. Lawler was one of four key Republican New York pickups in the 2022 midterm elections, and he has backed the GOP’s Limit, Save, Grow Act.

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Lawler fired back at Biden ahead of the visit.

“On Wed @JoeBiden comes to the Hudson Valley to lie about the debt ceiling debate and do nothing to address our migrant crisis, while NYers struggle under record inflation, skyrocketing energy costs, & high taxes — he’ll then hold a fundraiser where tickets run up to $100,000,” the congressman tweeted.

The $100,000 figure referenced by Lawler comes from a Puck News report that says tickets could go for that price to lead an event hosted by the Biden Action Fund. The Washington Examiner has reached out to the Biden Action Fund for comment.

Biden’s trip will take place in the Hudson Valley region in New York. During the visit, Biden is expected to attend two lucrative fundraiser events, including one hosted by former Blackstone executive Tony James and another by George Logothetis, the executive chairman of Libra Group, CNBC reported.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is expected to accompany Biden on the venture.

Lawler is widely considered to be one of the most vulnerable House Republicans, having won last cycle by less than a percentage point. Last November, he managed to defeat former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), the former chief of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is the House Democrats’ campaign arm.

His victory was a major breakthrough for Republicans in a traditionally Democratic stronghold state and came against the backdrop of redistricting upheaval. The Democrats have since been gearing up to reclaim his district and other lost seats via redistricting court battles and various campaigns.

Democrats have backed a court battle to overturn the state’s congressional maps, and the DCCC has targeted the state’s vulnerable Republicans.

“President Biden can back this legislation or engage in good-faith, bipartisan negotiations to find common ground to avoid a default and bend the unsustainable rate of federal spending. So far, he has done neither. Instead, President Biden plans to leave negotiators behind in Washington and travel to the Hudson Valley to make a political speech,” Marc Molinaro (R-NY) said about Biden’s visit in a statement.

Like Lawler, New York congressional Republicans have backed the party’s debt limit plan, which calls for a suite of spending rollbacks such as a return to fiscal 2022 levels for most discretionary spending measures outside of the military, a cap on most spending increases to about 1% annually, scrapping Biden’s student loan forgiveness bill, curtailing several green energy tax credits, and more.

In total, according to the Congressional Budget Office, one version of the legislation was projected to slash the deficit by $4.8 trillion over 10 years. The White House has panned Republicans over the measure, highlighting some of the cuts and accusing the GOP of slashing funding for veterans, something party leadership has adamantly denied.

“House Republicans that brand themselves as moderate lined up with the most extreme MAGA members on this vote, and we are making sure their constituents are aware of the true nature of their priorities,” Ben LaBolt, the White House communications director, said, per NBC.

Biden is poised to meet with all four congressional leaders, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), on Tuesday to discuss the debt ceiling standoff. Both sides remain at an impasse over how to address the crisis, and neither side has shown signs of relenting.

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McCarthy has demanded any increase be paired with a reduction in spending, while Biden has insisted on a clean stand-alone bill with no strings attached. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently warned that the government could hit the limit as soon as June 1.

If that were to happen and Congress declined to lift the nation’s borrowing authority, the country would run the risk of default. Biden and McCarthy last met in February.

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