To date, McCarthy and the GOP House members have refused to provide Biden with a debt ceiling ransom note. This is undoubtedly due to two facts: demands for specific spending cuts will be unpopular with the public; and the volatile GOP caucus predictably can’t agree on a plan–at least, not yet.
But what if this is actually a tactic? What if McCarthy never intends to deliver the ransom note? What if he plans to force Biden to negotiate with himself? That way, he can avoid dividing his caucus in the short run (thereby incurring the wrath of the minority) and leave responsibility for dealing with any given offer from Biden to the caucus as a whole. In other words, he would be abdicating the leadership responsibilities of his job in order to keep his title.
It would be an incredibly irresponsible thing to do, and it would look terrible to the public. The GOP would undoubtedly pay for it in 2024. But it would help save his job for the foreseeable future, and as we know, that’s what really matters.