McCarthy warns Biden, Congress still ‘far apart’ on debt ceiling negotiations
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Monday that the sides in negotiations on raising America’s credit limit remain “far apart” ahead of a planned Tuesday meeting to discuss how to avoid a potential June 1 default.
“I still think we’re far apart,” McCarthy (R-Calif.), 56, told NBC News, echoing remarks he made last week after congressional leaders met with President Biden over the issue. “It doesn’t seem to me yet that they want a deal.”
“It seems like they [the White House] want to look like they’re in a meeting,” the speaker added. “They’re not talking anything serious.”
Biden, 80, said this weekend he was “optimistic” about the negotiations but told reporters Monday morning he had no updates before departing Delaware to attend his granddaughter Maisy’s graduation from the University of Pennsylvania.
“I really think there’s a desire on their part, as well as ours, to reach an agreement, and I think we’ll be able to do it,” the president had said Sunday near his summer home in Rehoboth Beach.
The president is still planning to travel to Japan later this week to meet with members of the G-7, a trip that would further delay in-person parley with McCarthy over the debt ceiling. Biden previously said the event could be attended virtually if debt limit talks needed a jumpstart.
Last week, McCarthy told reporters that Biden lacked “seriousness” in discussions involving the president, the speaker, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the federal government could default on its debt by June 1 if Congress does not raise the borrowing limit. McCarthy told NBC Monday that “I think we’ve got to have a deal done by this weekend,” though he stopped short of criticizing Biden for going overseas.
Another meeting planned for last Friday was postponed due to scheduling issues and because, in McCarthy’s words, not “enough progress” had been made.
On Friday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said meetings involving White House and congressional staffers “have been productive,” but did not give further details.
House Republicans passed a debt ceiling increase last month that would raise the federal borrowing limit by $1.5 trillion or until March 31, 2024, whichever comes first.
The bill would cut non-defense discretionary spending back to fiscal year 2022 levels and GOP members have promised the cuts will not come from popular federal benefits programs such as Medicare or Social Security.
Biden expressed openness on Sunday to some of the spending cuts.
“I voted for tougher aid programs [as a senator], that’s in the law now, but for Medicaid it’s a different story,” he said. “And so I’m waiting to hear what their exact proposal is.”
As senator and vice president, Biden supported at least six previous debt ceiling proposals with spending reforms, Senate Republican Conference Chair John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) has noted.
House Democrats were in discussions about a potential end run around the Republican debt bill earlier this month, trying to court at least five GOP members for a forced floor vote on a so-called “clean” debt ceiling increase without the cooperation of the speaker’s office. However, that talk has died down as Republicans rally around McCarthy.
Biden has also refused to rule out raising the debt ceiling unilaterally through the 14th Amendment — a move that would face legal challenges and leave the US economy in limbo.
The president, Schumer and Jeffries each characterized the House Republicans’ debt bill as a “hostage” situation before talks began this month.
