Biden, McCarthy to meet for debt ceiling talks
>> President Joe Biden will meet in person Monday with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy about averting an economy-wrecking federal default, and the Republican leader expressed cautious optimism about a possible debt ceiling compromise as Washington races to raise America's borrowing limit before the funds could be depleted early next month.
The leaders spoke by phone Sunday while the president was returning home on Air Force One after the Group of Seven summit in Japan. McCarthy, RCalif., told reporters at the Capitol that the call was “productive” and that the on-again, off-again negotiations
between his staff and White House representatives would resume in the evening.
Both sides have said progress was being made but that they remain far apart, and talks had lapsed
for part of the weekend. Biden's Treasury Department has said it could run out of cash as soon as June 1, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday, “I think that that's a hard deadline.”
McCarthy said after his call with Biden that “I think we can solve some of these problems if he understands what we're looking at.” The speaker added, “But I've been very clear to him from the very beginning. We have to spend less money than we spent last year.”
McCarthy emerged from that conversation sounding upbeat and was careful not to criticize Biden's trip, as he had before, suggesting the president had used his time overseas to insist on Democratic positions that made compromise harder. He did caution, “There's no agreement on anything.”
The speaker also gently praised the White House's negotiating team, saying the sides may have “philosophical” disagreements, but could reach “common ground.”
“We're looking at how do we have a victory for this country. How do we solve problems,” McCarthy said. He said he did not think the final legislation would remake the federal budget and the country's debt, but at least “put us on a path to change the behavior of this runaway spending.”
The White House confirmed the Monday meeting and late Sunday talks but did not elaborate on the leaders' call.
Earlier, Biden used his concluding news conference in Hiroshima, Japan to warn House Republicans that they must move off their “extreme positions” over raising the debt limit and that there would be no agreement to avoid a catastrophic default only on their terms.
Biden made clear that “it's time for Republicans to accept that there is no deal to be made solely, solely, on their partisan terms.” He said he had done his part in attempting to raise the borrowing limit so the government can keep paying its bills, by agreeing to significant cuts in spending. “Now it's time for the other side to move from their extreme position.”
Biden had been scheduled to travel from Hiroshima to Papua New Guinea and Australia, but cut short his trip in light of the strained negotiations with Capitol Hill.
Even with a new wave of tax revenue expected soon, perhaps giving both sides more time to negotiate, Yellen said on NBC's “Meet the Press” that “the odds of reaching June 15, while being able to pay all of our bills, is quite low.”