McCarthy’s office has not met with Chamber during debt ceiling fight

The main business lobby in politics has not made contact with the House speaker’s office to discuss the debt ceiling standoff even as the country inches closer to default.

A spokesperson for Kevin McCarthy’s office said, as far as it was aware, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, once a staunch Republican ally, has not reached out to lobby on the debt ceiling.

In an interview, the Chamber’s chief policy officer, Neil Bradley, said the organization or its state and local affiliates have likely spoken with more than 150 lawmakers over the last several months about the need to raise the debt ceiling. But the U.S. Chamber has not met with McCarthy because such a meeting would just be a “cheerleading session,” Bradley said.