St. Patrick’s Day sets aside debt resentment for Biden and McCarthy

“As Irish-Americans, I want to strive every day to live up to the example of President Reagan and Tip O’Neill,” McCarthy said, addressing the president.

Biden said he agrees with McCarthy that there’s no reason “we can’t find common ground,” and he hopes “we can turn this little- lunch into a more everyday relationship”.

“There’s no reason why we can’t hope to change this direction of extremism from both of our parties,” Biden said, adding that it’s about the “power of friendship.”

Biden and McCarthy’s relationship this year has been marked by finding a way forward to raise the debt ceiling. In Biden’s State of the Union address last month, he chastised Republicans for their past interest in cutting the nation’s biggest rights programs. Biden then met with McCarthy looking for a way to lift the national debt ceiling.