Saying he’s worried about the potential for economic disaster, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday renewed his call for President Joe Biden to negotiate with him to raise the nation’s debt ceiling.

Since taking control of the House, Republicans have demanded spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt limit. Biden and McCarthy, R-Calif., met Jan. 31 on the matter but have held no talks since.

McCarthy wrote in a letter to Biden, which he shared on Twitter, that the president and his aides “have been completely missing in action on any meaningful follow-up” since their meeting.

“With each passing day, I am incredibly concerned that you are putting an already fragile economy in jeopardy by insisting upon your extreme position of refusing to negotiate any meaningful changes to out-of-control government spending alongside an increase of the debt limit,” McCarthy wrote. “Your position—if maintained—could prevent America from meeting its obligations and hold dire ramifications for the entire nation.”

Biden responded in a letter of his own later on Tuesday, writing House Republicans should work with Democrats to avoid a debt default, as they did during the Trump administration "without conditions, despite disagreements about budget priorities."

"That same standard should apply today," the president wrote.

In his letter, Biden also noted he shared his budget proposal publicly earlier this month, but House Republicans have yet to release a full proposal of their own.

"My hope is that House Republicans can present the American public with your budget plan before the Congress leaves for the Easter recess so that wan have an in-depth conversation when you return," Biden wrote. "As I have repeatedly said, that conversation must be separate from prompt action on the Congress' basic obligation to pay the Nation's bills and avoid economic catastrophe."

McCarthy is calling for the U.S. government to limit non-defense spending, reclaim unspent COVID-19 relief funds, strengthen work requirements for people without dependents and pass policies to “grow our economy and keep Americans safe,” including measures to lower energy costs, make the U.S. energy independent and secure the border to stem the flow of fentanyl into the country.

“Taken together, such policies would help address the number one issue facing Americans today: stubbornly high inflation brought on by reckless government spending,” McCarthy wrote.

The White House says Congress should vote to raise the debt limit “without conditions,” noting that it has been lifted 78 times since 1960, including three times under former President Donald Trump. The debt climbed nearly $8 trillion during Trump’s presidency, Biden has noted.

The speaker said he’s not interested in “brinkmanship” and knows the nation’s fiscal problems cannot be solved overnight.

“Mr. President, simply put: you are on the clock,” McCarthy wrote. “It’s time to drop the partisanship, roll up our sleeves, and find common ground on this urgent challenge.”

Speaking to reporters later Tuesday, McCarthy accused Biden of misleading members of Congress and the American people about his willingness to negotiate.

"He hasn't done that," McCarthy said. "I don't know what he's afraid of in the process. If he thinks you just have to raise the debt ceiling, there's not votes in the House to do that."

The debt limit is the amount of money the U.S. government is authorized to borrow to pay its existing legal obligations. The Treasury Department began in January using “extraordinary measures” so the government can pay its debts, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned lawmakers that if they don’t act, the country will run out of money to pay its bills sometime in June.

If Congress fails to raise or suspend the debt ceiling, the U.S. would default on its loans for the first time in its history, resulting in social security, military pay and other checks not being written and the government and Americans being hit with higher interest rates. A U.S. debt default also could potentially trigger a recession, experts say.

In touting job growth during his presidency, Biden said in a statement earlier this month he won’t give into Republicans’ demands in exchange for raising the debt cap.

“I will do everything in my power to prevent us from going backwards on the progress we’ve made – including by standing up to Congressional Republicans who threaten economic catastrophe over the debt limit in order to secure tax cuts for the wealthy and large corporations and reckless cuts to critical programs that American seniors and families count on,” Biden said.

In response to McCarthy's letter, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Tuesday that "Congress has a constitutional obligation to address the debt limit – as they did three times in the previous administration without conditions."

"Business leaders and economists have warned that the threat of a default risks the livelihoods of American small businesses, retirees, and working families and would hand a massive win to China — and recent events underscore the need for Congress to address the debt limit as soon as possible," Jean-Pierre said. "It’s time for Republicans to stop playing games, pass a clean debt ceiling bill, and quit threatening our economic recovery.

"Speaker McCarthy and his extreme MAGA caucus have refused to put out a budget," she added. "All we’ve heard from them is a list of devastating cuts to law enforcement and border security and proposals to take health care away from Americans and raise health care and child care costs. All to pay for their tax giveaway to the super-wealthy and corporations. In fact, their proposals don’t reduce the deficit at all."

The president has said he welcomes separate dialogue on how to reduce the deficit and control the national debt, which is now $31 trillion.

Earlier this month, Biden unveiled his $6.8 trillion budget proposal that aims to cut deficits by nearly $3 trillion over 10 years. Part of the plan hinges on raising taxes on wealthy Americans, which is expected to be meet resistance from Republicans.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the top Democrat in the Senate, agreed with the White House, calling on McCarthy to release his plan.

"He has not shown us any plan," Schumer said Tuesday. "If he comes to the president's office with no specific plan, no specific details about what the Republicans want to cut, what are they going to talk about, the weather?"