Debt ceiling talks ‘paused’: Republican negotiator calls White House demands ‘unreasonable’

Debt ceiling talks are now on “pause,” House Republicans said, after all parties expressed hope earlier this week that a deal could be on the horizon.

Rep. Garret Graves followed White House negotiators out of a meeting in the speaker’s office and told reporters that they had paused negotiations.

He called the talks “unproductive” and said the Biden administration was making “unreasonable” requests.

“Yes, we’re on a break,” speaker Kevin McCarthy confirmed to reporters just a day after he expressed hope that a deal could be on the floor next week.

“We need to get movement at the White House and we haven’t got movement yet,” McCarthy said.

“Yesterday I really felt like we were at the location where I could see the trail — the White House is just — look, we can’t spend more money next year.”

The news came out while President Biden was napping in Japan ahead of the G7 summit — around 1:30 a.m. local time. The White House said they would notify him of updates in the morning.

The White House confirmed talks “will be difficult” following news of the break.

“There are real differences of opinion between the parties on budget issues and the talks will be difficult. The president’s team is working hard on a reasonable bipartisan solution that can pass the House and Senate,” a White House spokesman said.

There are now less than two weeks before the Treasury runs out of money to pay the country’s bills on June 1.

On Thursday, McCarthy had said he wanted a vote on the deal next week and said he had spoken with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer about timing for a vote.

The Senate adjourned Thursday and will leave next week, but Schumer has instructed senators to return to Washington with 24 hours notice if necessary.

“Negotiations are moving forward as Speaker McCarthy has said he expects the House to vote next week if a deal is reached, and the Senate to begin deliberations after that,” Schumer said.

Members of the House Freedom Caucus, however, are digging in to the right, adopting a new stance calling for “no further discussion” until the Senate passes the House GOP’s Limit Save Grow Act.

“The House Freedom Caucus is calling on Speaker McCarthy and Senate Republicans to use every lever and tool at their disposal to ensure that the Limit, Save, Grow Act is signed into law.

There should be no further discussion until the Senate passes the legislation.”

It remains to be seen whether hardline Republicans will accept a negotiated deal less conservative than the party bill passed by the House.

A Freedom Caucus source said the new demand was meant to signal leadership: “Stop talking about diluting the [House GOP] bill.’

“Keep negotiating by all means, just start adding policies instead of removing them.”

President Trump issued his own similar warning to Republicans on Truth Social.

“REPUBLICANS SHOULD NOT AGREE ON THE DEBT CEILING UNLESS THEY GET EVERYTHING THEY WANT (including the “kitchen sink”). THIS IS HOW THE DEMOCRATS HAVE ALWAYS DONE US. DO NOT FOLD!!!’

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats led by Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., rolled out a letter Thursday demanding President Biden invoke the 14th Amendment to bypass Congress and unilaterally raise the debt limit.

“It is unfortunate that Republicans in the House and Senate are not acting in good faith,” the letter reads. “We are writing to urge you to prepare to exercise your authority under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.”

But the message in the letter is markedly different from either side, with Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer saying there could be a deal next week to vote on in the House of Representatives and the following week in the Senate.

Section 4 of the 14th Amendment reads: “The validity of the national debt of the United States permitted by law, including debts incurred for the payment of pensions and premiums for services in the suppression of insurrection or rebellion, shall not be cast into doubt.’

The amendment — which granted citizenship to former slaves and expanded “equal protection under the law” among other things — essentially states that the nation’s debts must be paid in full by the federal government.

Experts have interpreted this to mean that Biden may have some authority to rise above Congress and remove the debt-borrowing limit — although there would be legal challenges if he bypassed the legislature in this way.

The other signatories to Sanders’ letter are: Elizabeth Warren, Mass., John Fetterman, Pa., Richard Blumenthal, Conn., Tina Smith, Minn., Ed Markey, Mass., Jeff Merkley, Ore., Sheldon Whitehouse, RI , Peter Welch, Vt., and Mazie Hirono, Hawaii.

“This is the whole reason the 14th Amendment exists,” said Fetterman, who made a rare appearance at a news conference, laying out the demand.

Democrats say McCarthy’s reluctance to tax the wealthy or big business makes it “seemingly impossible to strike a bipartisan budget deal at this time.”

But taking the 14th Amendment route would almost certainly lead to swift legal action.

“An unelected Supreme Court justice will try to blow up our economy that belongs to them, if they have to judge,” Fetterman said, noting the almost guaranteed legal challenges to the maneuver.

“I’ll be very blunt with you, if we get through this I’m thinking about seeing months down the road or what the court would say about whether or not it works,” Biden said last week after meeting with congressional leaders.

Treasury sec. Janet Yellen, who was clear about the need for Congress to act as quickly as possible, also rejected the idea of ​​using the 14th Amendment.