The delay is billed as a sign of positive exchanges between Republican leaders, Democratic counterparts and the president.
President Biden’s meeting Friday with congressional leaders on the debt limit crisis was abruptly postponed to next week, with staff-level talks making progress and expected to continue through the weekend, the White House and congressional aides said Thursday.
The White House said staff would continue to hold discussions, and the delay was billed as a sign of positive exchanges between Republican leaders, Democratic counterparts and Biden.
The sudden shift jolted the high-stakes talks but did not appear to be a signal of a breakdown as the president and Congress urgently search for a budget deal to resolve the government’s borrowing crisis, those familiar with the situation said.
Washington is staring down a June 1 deadline to raise the debt limit to allow continued borrowing to cover already accrued bills or risk the nation’s first modern-day default, which would rock the U.S. economy and send out global shock waves as well.
For two days, private talks have been underway at the Capitol as staff from the White House and the congressional leaders worked Wednesday and again Thursday try to find a solution.
While most of those familiar with the situation said talks were progressing, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was harshly critical of the president and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer late Thursday.
“President Biden and Senator Schumer are stuck on no. They have no plan, no proposed savings and no clue,” McCarthy told reporters, similar to criticisms he made after the previous day’s talks. “Apparently, President Biden doesn’t want a deal, he wants a default.”
McCarthy said later: “I don’t think there’s enough progress for the leaders to get back together.” But he added that he did expect that meeting next week.
The gears of Washington were beginning to move, not smoothly but determinedly, on resolving the crisis, a turn of events in itself after months of stalemate between the Democratic President Biden and Republican Speaker McCarthy as the deadline looms to avert an economy-fracturing national default.
Staff is looking at billions of dollars of unspent COVID money. So, too, ideas as far-ranging as easing permits for energy projects and simply ordering broad spending caps are all still in the mix as negotiators from the White House and Congress engage in closed-door talks.
Then there’s one more development thrown into the works: Donald Trump is urging fellow Republicans to simply let America default on its debts if they don’t get the budget cutting deal they want from Biden.
“I say to the Republicans out there – congressmen, senators – if they don’t give you massive cuts, you’re going to have to do a default,” Trump said at a CNN town hall Wednesday night as part of his campaign to return to the White House.
It’s unclear whether the sudden outburst from Trump will affect negotiations. The former president continues to have sky-high influence with many in his party, and Trump-aligned lawmakers in Congress may heed his advice to engage in brinkmanship that could lead to a default that economists say could be catastrophic.
