GOP leaders draw ‘red line’ on tax hikes after first Biden meeting

The two top congressional Republicans said Wednesday that tax hikes are a “red line” in negotiations after President Biden hosted them at the White House for the first time to try to forge “consensus” on massive infrastructure spending.

“We’re not interested in reopening the 2017 tax bill. We both made that clear to the president. That’s our red line,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters on the White House driveway.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters that Republicans aren’t interested in “anything about tax increases” and that Biden has too expansively defined “infrastructure.”

Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan includes $400 billion for home and community health care and nearly $200 billion in electric vehicle subsidies. Senate Republicans recently countered with a narrower $568 billion infrastructure counter-proposal.