WASHINGTON (AP) — The negotiations between the White House and House Republicans about him debt ceiling dragged on over the weekend with tough talk but little action as the president Joe Biden and world leaders watched from afar in the hope that high-stakes discussions would make headway to prevent a potentially catastrophic federal default.
The government of President Joe Biden and the president of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, Republican from California, seek a budget deal that will pave the way for raising the nation’s debt limit. Republicans are demanding sharp spending cuts that Democrats oppose as too harsh.
Both sides face a deadline as early as June 1 to raise their borrowing limit, now at $31 trillion, so the government can keep paying the country’s bills.
With talks frozen on Saturday as each side accused the other of being unreasonable, Biden was frequently briefed on the status of the negotiations and directed his team to set up a call with McCarthy on Sunday morning, after they conclude the meetings at the summit of the Group of Seven in Hiroshima, Japan.
The decision to schedule a call came after another day with no sign of progress. Food was brought to a capitol hall on Saturday morning, but she was taken away hours later and no meeting was expected. However, the talks could resume on Sunday after the conversation between Biden and McCarthy.
“The president’s (lower house) team put on the table an offer that was a huge step backwards and contained a set of extreme partisan demands that could never be passed by both houses of Congress,” said press secretary Karine Jean- Pierre in a statement Saturday night.
“Let’s be clear: the president’s team is ready to meet at any moment,” Jean-Pierre added, noting that the Republican leadership is beholden to its extreme wing by threatening default.
McCarthy tweeted that it was the White House that was “walking back on negotiations.” He said that “the socialist wing” of the Democratic Party appears to have taken over, “especially with President Biden out of the country.”
Republican Congressman Dusty Johnson, who worked closely with McCarthy to shape the Republican proposal, told The Associated Press on Saturday night that there were no meetings scheduled for Sunday. The Republicans are trying to get the president’s attention instead of the negotiators.
“If the president doesn’t recommit, I don’t know if the talks can bear fruit,” Johnson warned.
At the G7 summit in Japan, Biden tried to assure his colleagues that the United States would not default, something that would rock the world economy. He said he sensed progress in the talks.
“The first meetings were not so progressive, the second ones were, the third one was”, said the president, adding that in his opinion “we will be able to avoid a default and we will be able to do something decent”.
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