EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans will hold a call with members Monday evening to discuss the Biden administration’s response to the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse and formulate a response, Capitol Hill sources told Fox News Digital.
The briefing call is being agreed by Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House GOP leadership at 8 pm EST, according to an invitation viewed by Fox News Digital.
The purpose is to “hear from [House Financial Services] Chair McHenry and other Members of the Financial Services Committee about the Administration’s response to the failure of the Silicon Valley Bank,” according to the notice received by House GOP offices this afternoon.
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WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 10: US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks at a bill signing ceremony for HJ Res. 26 at the US Capitol Building on March 10, 2023 (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Two additional sources familiar with the matter confirmed the expected briefing.
Fox News Digital reached out to McCarthy and McHenry’s offices for comment but did not immediately hear back.
The Republican House Speaker told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on Sunday morning, “I have talked with the administration, from Jay Powell and Janet Yellen. They do have the tools to handle the current situation. They do know the seriousness of this.”
That was before federal regulators announced that they were stepping in to ensure all of SVB’s depositors would get their money back, despite Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) dictating that cash in the bank is only insured up to $250,000.
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Representative Patrick McHenry (R-NC) attends the House Financial Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, September 30, 2021. (Al Drago/Pool via REUTERS)
Biden officials said in a statement that “no losses associated with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank will be borne by the taxpayer,” and that the money would come from fees already collected by banks.
Still, President Biden’s critics accused him of making a political decision to bail out Silicon Valley investors.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., for example tweeted, “If First Bank of Midland Texas Oil and Gas failed, you can be sure Biden would not be helping to bail them out. This bailout is 100% about protecting the donor base of the Democrats and ensuring if you invest in DEI and ESG you’ll be just fine!”
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A customer stands outside of a shuttered Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) headquarters on March 10, 2023 in Santa Clara, California. Silicon Valley Bank was shut down on Friday morning by California regulators and was put in control of the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Officials held a bipartisan, bicameral video call on Sunday evening to update members of Congress after SVB was shut down by regulators following a rush of investors withdrawing funds. It was a major first step towards explaining to lawyers what happened in the largest US bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis.
Senate Republicans received a follow-up briefing on Monday afternoon after several claimed they were not invited to Sunday’s initial meeting.
