CNBC host Sara Eisen challenged House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Monday after he demanded spending cuts in return for raising the nation's debt limit.
During an interview in New York, McCarthy told Eisen that the country was like a child with a credit card.
"Would you just raise the limit?" he asked.
"Well, if it meant playing with America's standing and full faith and credit of U.S. government debt, I feel like you can deal with the spending in other ways, which is totally legitimate," Eisen observed.
McCarthy suggested that there was no other way to reduce the nation's debt.
"You did it three times in the Trump administration," Eisen noted.
"We never raised the debt ceiling by itself," McCarthy insisted.
"And tax cuts," Eisen interrupted. "That was like $2 trillion in deficit."
But McCarthy argued that the Trump-era tax cuts were good for the economy.
"So I was going to ask you about taxes because I wonder, because you want to extend the Trump tax cuts, correct?" Eisen asked. "But isn't that a little hypocritical when you're talking about finding savings everywhere and being on an unsustainable fiscal path?"
"How's that hypocritical when it's bringing tax cuts, tax savings?" McCarthy retorted. "I will always advocate for the idea that we are streamlining our tax policies, that we're also streamlining our regulation."
Watch the video below from CNBC.
