Lawmakers are not expected back in Washington until Tuesday, two days before Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen predicts the U.S. won’t have funds to pay its bills.
House Republicans pushed debt ceiling talks to the brink Thursday, displaying risky political bravado in leaving town for the holiday weekend just days before the U.S. could face an unprecedented default hurling the global economy into chaos.
At the Capitol, Speaker Kevin McCarthy said “every hour matters” in talks with President Joe Biden’s team as they try to work out a budget agreement. Republican are demanding spending cuts the Democrats oppose as their price for raising the legal debt limit.
“We’ve been taking to the White House all day,” McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters as he left the Capitol for the evening, with his top negotiators soon to follow. “We’re working hard to make it happen.”
In remarks at the White House, Biden said, “It’s about competing versions of America.” Yet both men expressed optimism that the gulf between their positions could be bridged.
The White House said discussions with the Republicans have been productive, including by video conference Thursday, though serious disagreements remained as the president fights for his priorities.
“The only way to move forward is with a bipartisan agreement,” Biden said. “And I believe we’ll come to an agreement that allows us to move forward and protects the hardworking Americans of this country.”
As the deadline nears, it’s clear the Republican speaker — who leads a Donald Trump-aligned party whose hard-right flank lifted him to power, and who spoke to the former president this week — is now staring down a potential crisis.
Lawmakers are tentatively not expected back at work until Tuesday, just two days from June 1, when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the U.S. could start running out of cash to pay its bills and face a federal default. Biden will also be away, departing Friday for the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, and Sunday for his home in Wilmington, Delaware. The Senate is on recess and will be until after Memorial Day.
Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings agency placed the United States’ AAA credit on “ratings watch negative,” warning of a possible downgrade.
Democratic lawmakers lined up on the House floor as the workday ended to blame “extreme” Republicans for the risky potential default.
