Biden, McCarthy call debt talks ‘productive,’ but no deal
WASHINGTON, USA—A top US Republican and President Joe Biden on Monday both said their first one-on-one talks in months to avert a calamitous debt default were “productive,” but that disagreements were still blocking any potential deal.
The White House meeting came after Biden returned from a trip to Asia early to hammer out an agreement ahead of the US Treasury’s June 1 cut-off date for Congress to authorize more borrowing.
“I felt we had a productive discussion. We don’t have an agreement yet, but I did feel the discussion was productive in areas (where) we have differences of opinion,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said after the talks.
McCarthy told reporters that negotiators were going to “work through the night” to move the sides closer and that he and Biden would “talk every day to try to find a way to get this done.”
Debt limits are raised periodically to cover repayments on loans that have already been approved and spent, but House Republicans are insisting this time that averting a default must be paired with deep cuts to bring down the country’s $31.8 trillion debt.
As they sat down for the meeting, Biden said “I am optimistic we are going to make some progress,” adding both sides understood they have “a significant responsibility” to solve the impasse.
Afterward, the president used similar language as McCarthy in a statement, calling the meeting “productive,” while adding that “areas of disagreement” remain.
The on-again, off-again discussions sputtered through the weekend, with McCarthy’s team and White House negotiators meeting for more than two hours on Sunday night and another three on Monday.
Biden and McCarthy also spoke by phone Sunday as the president flew home from a G7 summit in Japan.
After Monday’s Oval Office meeting and McCarthy’s description of the talks as productive, his team hardened its tone, with Republican congressman and negotiator Patrick McHenry telling reporters: “What I sense from the White House is a lack of urgency.”
Republicans insist on spending less money in fiscal year 2024 than 2023, calling it a “red line.”
The White House has offered a freeze for 2024 in exchange for Republicans supporting tax increases for corporations and wealthy Americans but McCarthy has rejected the idea.