The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
House negotiators leave third day behind closed doors with ‘serious gap.’
WASHINGTON — Debt limit talks between the White House and House Republicans stopped, started and stopped again Friday at the U.S. Capitol, a dizzying series of events in high-stakes negotiations to avoid a potentially catastrophic federal default.
President Joe Biden’s administration is reaching for a deal with Republicans led by House Speaker Kevin Mccarthy as the nation faces a deadline as soon as June 1 to raise the country’s borrowing limit, now at $31 trillion, to keep paying the nation’s bills. Republicans are demanding steep spending cuts the Democrats oppose.
Negotiations came to an abrupt standstill earlier in the day when Mccarthy said it’s time to “pause” talks. But the negotiating teams convened again in the evening only to quickly call it quits for the night.
The president, who has been in Japan attending the Group of Seven summit, had no immediate public comment. But White House press secretary Karine Jean-pierre said Biden was “still optimistic” that a deal could be reached.
“The president is confident there is a path forward,” said Jean-pierre, but she acknowledged the difficulty of negotiations. “There’s no question we have serious differences.”
Top Republican negotiators for Mccarthy said after the evening session that they were uncertain on next steps, though it’s likely discussions will resume over the weekend. The White House publicly expressed optimism that a resolution could be reached if parties negotiated in “good faith.”
“We reengaged, had a very, very candid discussion, talking about where we are, talking about where things need to be, what’s reasonably acceptable,” said Rep. Garret Graves, R-LA., a top Mccarthy ally leading the talks for his side.
Another Republican negotiator, Rep. Patrick Mchenry of North Carolina, was asked if he was confident an agreement over budget issues could be reached with the White House. He replied, “No.”
As the White House team left the nighttime session, counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti, who is leading talks for the Democrats, said he was hopeful.
“We’re going to keep working,” he said.
Biden had already planned to cut short the rest of his trip and is expected to return to Washington Sunday night.
Earlier in the day, Mccarthy said resolution to the standoff is “easy,” if only Biden’s team would agree to some spending cuts Republicans are demanding.