Another round of debt talks has wrapped up at the U.S. Capitol. White House and House Republican staff met for 2 1/2 hours Sunday evening. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy plan …
By STEPHEN GROVES, ZEKE MILLER and JOSH BOAK (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON The White House and House Republicans wrapped up another round of debt ceiling talks Sunday as Washington races to strike a budget compromise along with a deal to raise the nation’s borrowing limit and avert an economy-wrecking federal default.
President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy spoke by phone Sunday while the president was returning home on Air Force One after the Group of Seven summit in Japan. They plan to meet Monday at the White House.
“It went well, we’ll talk tomorrow,” Biden said of the phone call as he arrived back in Washington late in the evening.
Upbeat, McCarthy, R-Calif., 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 are focused on spending cuts.
Negotiators for the Democratic president and Republican speaker met for 2 1/2 hours at the Capitol as talks appear to be narrowing on a 2024 budget year cap that would be key to resolving the standoff. “We’ll keep working,” said Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president, as the White House team exited. The Republicans were not seen leaving the speaker’s office and offered no immediate comment after the talks.
They all face a deadline, as soon as June 1, when the government could run out of cash to pay its bills. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday that June 1 is 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 optimistic and was careful not to criticize Biden’s trip, as he had before. He did caution, “There’s no agreement on anything.”
“We’re looking at, how do we have a victory for this country?” 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.
