The Biden-McCarthy meeting on the debt ceiling is postponed until next week

2023-05-12 08:00:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

A meeting on the debt limit between US President Joe Biden and key lawmakers that was scheduled for Friday has been postponed. The leaders agreed to meet early next week, a White House spokesman said Thursday.

Advisers from both parties have begun discussing ways to limit federal spending, while talks on raising the government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling to avoid a catastrophic default remain ahead, aides familiar with the discussions said.

"Staff will continue to work and all managers have agreed to meet early next week," the spokesman said.

The Biden-McCarthy meeting on the debt ceiling is postponed until next week

Illustrative photo

Aides to Mr. Biden, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, Republican Senator Mitch McConnell and Democrats Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer met on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss raising the debt ceiling, the White House said earlier.

White House officials acknowledged they must make some spending cuts or strict limits on future spending if they want to reach a deal, two sources said, while insisting they must defend President Biden's signature climate legislation that was passed during party lines last year.

The House Republican bill to suspend the borrowing limit passed in April would cut government spending to 2022 levels, cap future growth below inflation and repeal energy incentives. renewables, electric vehicles and other climate-friendly technologies endorsed in the Biden legislation.

Mr McCarthy told reporters in Congress that the delay was not a sign of trouble in the talks.

The two sides are also debating how long to delay the next possible debt ceiling showdown, the sources said. President Biden and Democrats would prefer a two-year window, delaying any legislative action beyond the 2024 presidential election, but they may have to accept larger spending cuts or tighter limits to buy more time, the sources said. .

"Spending levels are the key," Republican Rep. Daniel Webster said before talks were rescheduled. "Spending cuts are where we're stuck."

That spending cuts and the cap are on the table could be a sign of progress in talks where Democrats have long sought an unconditional repeal of the debt ceiling, while Republicans have sought a range of policy changes in addition to sharp spending cuts.

The White House portrayed the postponement as a positive development, with meetings progressing.

The federal government could run out of money to pay its bills as early as June 1, the Treasury Department said, unless the debt ceiling is raised. President Biden plans to leave the country next week to attend the G7 meeting in Japan, and there are only a few days left when he and the leadership of the House of Representatives and the Senate will be in Washington before that deadline.