Biden, McCarthy set to resume US debt talks with 10 days until deadline

WASHINGTON, USA—Anxieties were mounting in Washington ahead of President Joe Biden’s Monday meeting with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over negotiations to raise the US debt ceiling, less than two weeks before a key deadline to avoid a disastrous default.

After a weekend of near deadlock, Biden arrived back in Washington late Sunday, cutting short a trip to Asia to resume talks ahead of the US Treasury’s June 1 deadline for Congress to authorize more borrowing. Ahead of their Monday afternoon meeting, Biden and McCarthy spoke as the president flew back to the United States on Air Force One.

“It went well,” Biden told reporters of the phone call as he arrived at the White House Sunday night.

“We’ll talk tomorrow.” And earlier in the day, McCarthy had said the conversation was “productive” —in contrast to the sharp words exchanged in a previous round of negotiations.

Still, the two sides seemed far from a final compromise, as Biden said Sunday that Republicans’ latest demands for spending cuts as a condition for raising the US government borrowing authority were “frankly unacceptable.”

“It’s time for the other side to move from their extreme positions,” he said at a press conference before leaving the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

And in a tweet, Biden maintained that he was categorically opposed to slashing social and healthcare assistance.

“I will not agree to a deal with House Republicans that protect billions in subsidies for Big Oil while putting the healthcare of 21 million Americans at risk,” Biden said.

And for his part, McCarthy said his position remained unchanged. “Washington cannot continue to spend money we do not have at the expense of children and grandchildren,” he said on Twitter after talking to Biden.