Joe Biden, congressional leaders likely to meet Tuesday for talks on debt limit
President Joe Biden speaks to media as he goes on a bike ride in Rehoboth Beach, Del., Sunday. Image via AP.

1000 (15)
The President voiced confidence an agreement will be reached, but so far no breakthrough has occurred.

President Joe Biden and congressional leaders will likely resume talks on Tuesday at the White House over the debt limit, the President said Sunday, as the nation continues to edge closer to its legal borrowing authority with no agreement in sight.

The meeting was initially supposed to be Friday, but was abruptly postponed so staff-level talks could continue before Biden and the four congressional leaders huddled for a second time. Administration and congressional officials said Sunday that a meeting has not been finalized, although Tuesday was the likeliest option as Biden returns to Washington on Monday and is scheduled to leave for the Group of 7 summit in Japan on Wednesday.

Biden did not detail much progress in the talks, but said he remained hopeful that an agreement could be reached with Republicans to avoid what would be an unprecedented debt default, which could trigger a financial catastrophe.

“I remain optimistic because I’m a congenital optimist,” Biden told reporters while out for a bike ride in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. “But I really think there’s a desire on their part as well as ours to reach an agreement. I think we’ll be able to do it.”

Aides said talks had continued throughout the weekend. But at least publicly, there was little indication either the White House or House Republicans had budged from their initial positions. Biden has called on lawmakers to lift the debt limit without preconditions, warning that the nation’s borrowing authority should not be used to impose deep spending cuts and other conservative policy demands.

“We’ve not reached the crunch point yet,” Biden told reporters Saturday before flying to his beach home for the weekend. “There’s real discussion about some changes we all could make. We’re not there yet.”

On Sunday, senior administration officials said the talks among staff had so far been productive after Biden and the leaders — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky — ended their first meeting last Tuesday without a breakthrough.

The President described that Oval Office session as “productive” even though McCarthy said later he “didn’t see any new movement” toward resolving the stalemate. White House and congressional aides have been in talks since Wednesday.

“The staff is very engaged. I would characterize the engagement as serious, as constructive,” Lael Brainard, head of the White House’s National Economic Council, said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

McCarthy has insisted on using the threat of defaulting on the nation’s debts to wrangle spending changes, arguing the federal government can’t continue to spend money at the pace it is now. The national debt now stands at $31.4 trillion.

An increase in the debt limit would not authorize new federal spending. It would only allow for borrowing to pay for what Congress has already approved.

The Treasury Department has said the government could exhaust the ability to pay its bills as early as June 1. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office gave a similar warning Friday, saying there was a “significant risk” of default sometime in the first two weeks of next month.

But federal estimates still remain in flux.

The CBO noted Friday that if the cash flow at the Treasury and the “extraordinary measures” the department is now using can continue to pay for bills through June 15, the government can probably finance its operations through the end of July. That’s because the expected tax revenues that will come in mid-June and other measures will give the federal government enough cash for at least a few more weeks.

“Ultimately the stakes are, the United States has never defaulted on its debt,” Wally Adeyemo, the deputy Treasury secretary, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “And we can’t.”

And Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, told ABC’s “This Week”: “I think defaulting is not the right path to go down. So I am an eternal optimist.″

He added, “this is always a game we play, every Congress, you know, in daring each other to jump off the cliff. It’s a dangerous game.”

___

Republished with permission of The Associated Press.

Associated Press


4 comments

  • Billy the Bamboozler

    May 14, 2023 at 7:37 pm

    Biden should have raised taxes significantly.. and if anyone had a problem with it…then just go ahead and really drive it home how Republicans just had to reduce the debt. Raise taxes to 90% on incomes over 300K a year and then reiterate just how bad Republicans wanted to reduce the debt so it had to be done. Take it up with Republicans if you don’t like it.

  • Impeach Biden

    May 14, 2023 at 8:05 pm

    Hopefully there was training wheels on that old man’s bike. Any chance he was riding that tricycle near thenSouthern Border? I doubt it and you zombies would certainly cover for that feeble old man. Meanwhile in Ukraine.

    • Elliott Offen

      May 14, 2023 at 9:11 pm

      Just stupid post after stupid post.. which in only one reason why Trump will never be president again… because people see the stupid people who cheerlead for the idiot and are appalled.

  • Earl Pitts American

    May 15, 2023 at 6:44 am

    Good morning dook 4 brains leftists,
    Your demented leader’s handlers have made such a mess of not just the economy but everything.
    So why are your demented leader’s handlers and decision makers waiting until Tuesday to put out their intentionally set fire? Hello what about TODAY hello what about LAST &FFIN WEEK??? HELLO ???????
    Our once great nation needs GOD AND REPUBLICANS now more than ever.

    Oh and one more thing for dook 4 brains lefties All Americans:
    Real Americans Red and Yellow Black and White stand together in condeming all you dook 4 brains lefties. Basically everything wrong is your fault.
    Thank you dook 4 brains lefties for allowing me, Earl Pitts American, a moment of your irrelevant time to pound some sense into your dook 4 brains heads.
    Earl Pitts “Dook 4 Brains Leftie Educator” American

Comments are closed.


#FlaPol

Florida Politics is a statewide, new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, policy, and lobbying in Florida. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL

Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Drew Dixon, Roseanne Dunkelberger, A.G. Gancarski, Anne Geggis, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Cole Pepper, Gray Rohrer, Jesse Scheckner, Christine Sexton, Drew Wilson, and Mike Wright.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeterSchorschFL
Phone: (727) 642-3162
Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182
St. Petersburg, Florida 33704




Sign up for Sunburn


Categories