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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy expressed optimism Saturday about sealing a deal to raise the federal debt ceiling before the nation reaches its borrowing limit June 5.
“I feel closer to an agreement now than I did a long time before,” he told reporters as he arrived at the US Capitol Saturday morning, after a marathon negotiation session that ended at 2:30 am, hinting that the final language could be completed within hours.
Minutes later, after meeting briefly with his GOP negotiating team, he struck a gloomier note.
“I don’t know about today,” he warned, as he left the building and headed to a nearby Chipotle for lunch.
“We did make progress,” the speaker said. “We worked well until early this morning and we’re back at it now. Some things we just have to finish out. We’ve got to make sure we get a right agreement for the American people.”
Timing is everything as Republicans and the White House battle over spending ahead of what the Biden administration says could be a ruinous federal debt default.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Friday afternoon the government won’t run out of money until June 5, four days later than was previously expected, relieving some of the pressure as President Biden headed off to Camp David for the holiday weekend.
