President Biden and speaker Kevin McCarthy expressed optimism on Monday that they could break the partisan stalemate that has prevented action to stave off a state debt default, but have remained far apart on a deal to raise the debt limit, as the Democrats resist the Republicans’ demands for spending cuts in return.
The two met at the White House for the second time in two weeks in a show of goodwill after a weekend of behind-the-scenes clashes between negotiators, punctuated by a move by Republicans on Friday to halt talks and impeachment. by either party that the other was unreasonable.
Now that Mr. Biden is back from a summit in Japan, the tenor seems to have changed significantly.
“We don’t have an agreement yet,” said Mr. McCarthy after the meeting to reporters at the White House. “But I did feel like the discussion was productive,” he said, later adding that he believed the tone of the talks was “better than any other time we had discussions.”
“I believe we can still get there,” said Mr. McCarthy. “I believe we can make it happen.”
He said he expected to speak with Mr Biden daily until a deal could be struck.
With a default looming on June 1, both Mr. Biden and Mr. McCarthy began their latest meeting optimistically about reaching an agreement in an effort to avoid economic catastrophe, sending their top advisers to spend the next few days until to reach an agreement. .
“We still have some disagreements, but I think we might be able to get where we need to go,” Mr. Biden said as the two sat down in the Oval Office. “We both know we have a great responsibility.”
Mr Biden said in a brief statement after the meeting that the talks were “productive”.
“We reiterated once again that default is off the table and the only way forward is to move forward in good faith to a bipartisan agreement,” he added, saying he and his negotiating team would continue to talk to Mr McCarthy and the his.
However, the two sides remained at odds. The White House has called Republican demands for spending cuts extreme, while Mr. McCarthy and his aides have accused White House officials of being unreasonable.
The number of legislative days for Congress to vote to raise the debt ceiling before the scheduled deadline is rapidly dwindling. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen on Monday reiterated her warning to Congress that the United States could exceed its authority to borrow to pay its bills starting June 1. She said in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” over the weekend that the government is likely to hold out until mid-June — when a significant amount of quarterly tax revenue is expected to flow in, giving the Treasury more breathing room to meet its obligations. to meet – was “quite low”.
And Republicans hinted that a deal probably wouldn’t materialize until bankruptcy was really imminent. When asked on Monday evening what it would take to break the deadlock, Mr McCarthy replied simply, “June 1st.”
Chief among the unresolved issues is how much in total to spend next fiscal year on discretionary programs and how long any spending limits should last. Republicans want to allow military spending to increase while cutting other programs. But they have shown some flexibility in how long they would try to limit spending overall, which equates to an initial requirement of 10 years to six years.
That’s longer than Mr. Biden wants. White House officials have proposed keeping both military and other spending — including education, scientific research and environmental protection — constant over the next two years.
“These are tough issues,” said Rep. Patrick T. McHenry, a North Carolina Republican and a key ally of Mr. McCarthy, who was involved in the talks and attended the White House meeting. “A guideline to cut spending year over year is the hardest thing to do in Washington, DC. But that is the speaker’s directive to his negotiating team. It is our expectation that we can achieve that.”
Far-right members of McCarthy’s conference have continued to pressure the speaker to accept nothing less than the cuts that House Republicans made to their debt limit last month, which would amount to an average reduction of 18 percent from of the previous month. a decade.
“Republicans must #HoldTheLine on the debt ceiling to make spending realistic again and restore fiscal health in DC,” the House Freedom Caucus wrote on Twitter. “We spend $100+ billion more than federal tax revenue EVERY MONTH. Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.”
Mr. McCarthy expressed confidence that he could keep his conference largely united around whatever deal he strikes with Mr. Biden, telling reporters at the Capitol before the meeting that he believed it would gain the support of both Democrats and Democrats. republicans.
“I firmly believe that whatever we’re negotiating now, a majority of Republicans will see that it’s the right place to put us on the right track,” he said.
But he also hinted that members of his conference should prepare to accept an end product that falls short of what some lawmakers have demanded.
“I don’t want you to think at the end of the day that the bill we come up with is going to solve all this problem,” he said. “But it will be a step to finally acknowledge our problem and take a step in the right direction. And we will come back the next day to take the next step.”
Once the negotiators agree on a deal, it will take time to translate it into legislative text. Mr McCarthy has promised to give lawmakers 72 hours to review the bill, saying on Monday he believes negotiators should reach a compromise this week to pass legislation raising the debt ceiling before the planned deadline of June 1.
Lawmakers in the House were still unsure of when they would need to be present to cast a vote to avoid a default. The House was scheduled to leave Washington starting Monday night, starting Thursday afternoon prior to Memorial Day weekend.
The two sides reached some agreement in talks over the past week, including on reclaiming some unspent funds from previously approved Covid-19 relief legislation.
Senior government officials said Project NextGen, the Biden administration’s $5 billion Covid vaccine development program, could be one of the casualties of those cuts. The program, modeled in part on the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed, is an effort to find different forms of vaccines that scientists believe will provide more durable protection against the coronavirus.
But many other issues remain to be resolved, including stricter work requirements for able-bodied adults with no dependents for certain social safety net programs. The bill passed by House Republicans included stricter requirements for recipients of temporary assistance for needy families and food stamps, and is a key demand from House conservatives.
Mr McCarthy said on Monday he would continue to push for them to be included in whatever deal he strikes with Mr Biden, and White House negotiators have shown a willingness to find a compromise on the matter.
Carl Hulse reporting contributed.
