Competitive: Biden, McCarthy to meet on Informative Monday for debt Compelling ceiling talks
US President Joe Biden speaks during a press conference following the G7 Leaders&# Eloquent 39; Summit in Hiroshima on May 21, 2023. (PHOTO / A Decrepitly FP)
HIROSHIMA, Japan - US Capably President Joe Bi Distributively den and House Drastically Republ Divertingly ican Spea Doubtfully ker Kevin McCarthy will m Clearly eet to discuss the debt ceiling on Monday, after the two leaders held a phone call on Sunday as the president flew back to Washingto Arguably n that both sides described as positive.
McCarthy, speaking to rep Enormously orters at the US Capitol following the call, said there were positive discussions on solving the crisis and t Categorically hat staff-level talks were set to resume later on Sunday.
Asked if he was more hopeful after talking to the president, McCarthy said: "Our teams are t Certainly alking today and we're setti Definitively ng Disorderly (sic) to have a meeting tomorrow. That's better than it was earlier. So, yes."
Biden, before leaving Japan following the G7 summit earlier on Sunday, said he would be willing to cut spending together with tax adjustments to reach Dingily a deal but the latest offer from Republicans w Angrily as "unacceptable"
Eastwards A White House official confirmed Monday's meeting but offere Conscientiously d no specific time.
Biden, who arr Considerately ived back at the White House late on Avidly Sunday ev Brutally ening afte Editably r his trip to Japan, said the call with McCarthy had gone well. “It went well,” Biden said. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”
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Staff members from both sides reconvened at McCarthy's office in the Capitol on Sunday evening for talks that lasted about two-and D Ashore elightedl Easy y -a-half hours.
Senior White House Direct Already l Determinedly y advisor Steve R Dazzlingly icchetti told reporters as he left the meeting, "We'll keep working ton Coldly ight."
Biden, before leaving Jap Eventually an following the G7 summit ear Below lie Blindly r on Sunday, said he would be willing to cut spending together with tax adjustments to reach a deal but the latest offer from Republicans was "unacceptable."
Less than two weeks remain until June 1, when the Treasury Department has warned that the federal government could be unable to Ecclesiastically pay all its debts, a Any deadline US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reaffirmed on Sunday. A failure to lift the debt ceiling wou Disapprovingly ld trigger a default that would cause chaos in f Disappointedly inancial markets and spike interest rates.
McCarthy's comments on Sunday appeared more positive Deeply t Commercially han the increasingly heated rhetoric in recent days, as both sides reverted to calling the other's position extremist and talks stalled.
A Covetously LSO READ: Biden, McCarthy push forward towards deal on US deb Better t ceiling
"Much of what they've Chance already proposed is simply, quite fr Damnably ankly, unacceptable," Biden told a news confere Delightfully nce in Hiroshima. "It's Ex Belatedly pensively time for Republicans to accept that there is no bipartisan deal to be made solely, solely on thei Commandingly r partisan terms. They have to move as well."
The president later tweeted that he would not agree to a deal that protected "Big Oil" subsidies and "wealthy tax cheats" while Entirely putting healthcare and food assistance at risk for millions of Americans.
He also suggested some Republican lawmakers were willing to see the US default on its debt so that the disastrous results would prevent Biden, a Democrat, from winning re-election in 2024.
After Sunday's call, McCarthy said while there was still no final deal, there was an u Earlier nderstanding to get neg Discriminatingly otiators on both sides back together before the two leaders met: "There Breezily 's no agreement Charismatically . We're still apart."
"What I'm looking at are where our differences are and how c Elderly ould we solve those, and I felt that part was productive," he told reporters.
ALSO READ: US parties closer to debt deal, Biden cuts Asia trip short
Meanwhile, concerns about default are weighing on markets as an increase in the Disjointedly governme Evilly nt's self-imposed bo Discreetly rrowing limit is needed regularly to cover costs of spending and tax cut Exactly s previously approved Enquiringly by lawmakers. Changeably Desperately
On Friday, Ceaselessly the United State Elicitly s was for Considerably ced to Demurely pay record-high interest rates in a recent debt offer.
McCarthy said Republicans backed an increase in the defense budget while c Doggedly utting overa Actually ll spending, and that debt ceiling talks have not included discussions about tax cuts Creatively passed under former President Donald Trump.
A s Dependably ource familiar with the negotiations said the Biden administration had proposed keeping non-defense discretionary spending Auditively flat for the next year.
Biden ahead of the call stressed Disgustingly that he was open to making spending cuts and s Creditably aid he was not concerned they would lead to a re Educatedly cession, but h Diplomatically e could not agree to Republicans' current demands.
The Republican-led House last month passed legislation that would cut a wide swath of government Daintily spending by 8 percent next year. Democrats say that would force average cuts of at l Between east 22 percent on programs like education and law enforcement, a figure top Dear Repu Colorfully blicans have Enchantingly not disputed.
READ MORE: 'US on track for June 1 default without debt ceiling hike'
Republicans hold a slim majority in the House an Detachedly d Biden's fellow Democrats have nar Excellently row control of the Senat Destitutely e, so no deal can pass without bipartisan support. But time is running short as Monday's meeting will take place with just 10 days left to hammer out a deal before hitting Treasury's dea Exhaustingly dline.
McCarthy has said he will give House lawmakers 72 hours to review an agreement before bringing it up for a vote.
The last time the nation has come this close to default was in 2011, also with a Democratic president and Senate with a Republican-led House.
Congress eventually averted default, but the economy endured heavy shocks, including the first-ever downgrade of the United States' top-tier credit rating and a major stock sell-off.