SIX DAYS to default: Kevin McCarthy says STILL more ‘progress’ to be made in White House debt ceiling talks – as Biden prepares to leave for Memorial Day weekend and clock ticks to ‘x date ‘
- “I thought we made progress last night. We need to make more progress now,” McCarthy told reporters on his way to the Capitol
- The two sides have still not agreed on a topline number for raising the country’s borrowing limit
- A well-known source said they also disagree on extending the loan for one or two years
Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he believed “progress” had been made in the overnight debt talks, although the two sides are still stuck on the biggest part: spending levels.
“I thought we made progress last night. We need to make more progress now,” McCarthy told reporters on his way to the Capitol.
He said he met his top negotiator, Deputy Garret Graves, for a bike ride in the morning.
“It’s about expenses. The Democrats never want to stop,” McCarthy said.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he believed “progress” had been made in debt talks overnight, though the two sides are still stuck on the biggest part: spending levels
Graves and fellow top negotiator Rep. Patrick McHenry were seen re-entering the speaker’s office mid-morning on Friday.
The two sides have still not agreed on a topline number for raising the country’s borrowing limit.
McHenry told reporters on his way to the speaker’s office that no face-to-face meetings were scheduled for Friday between House GOP negotiators and White House negotiators Steve Ricchetti and Shalanda Young.
President Biden will head to Camp David on Friday before planning to spend the weekend at his home in Delaware. The White House insists he can negotiate over the phone from anywhere.
‘We’re here night after night after night. The pressure is greater, the consequences greater. We recognize that. The White House should recognize that,” said McHenry, NC.
Bloomberg reports that the two parties strike a deal that would increase the debt limit for two years and limit spending for the same amount of time — and the deal would recoup $10 billion of the $80 billion increase in IRS funding that Democrats last years have passed Congress.
But a source familiar with the talks told DailyMail.com that the two parties have not agreed on the grand prize and that they disagree on extending the loan for one or two years.
Republicans want just one year, Democrats want to push the extension through the next election.
The two sides will also discuss defense spending on Friday.
Reporters desperately scramble around the speaker for updates on the impending deal that could avoid a catastrophic default
Republicans wanted a big increase in the defense budget even though they want cuts in general, while the Democrats wanted cuts
Republicans wanted a big increase in the defense budget, even though they want cuts in general, while the Democrats wanted cuts.
The two sides could agree on a small increase — in line with President Biden’s $886.3 billion budget request.
In 2011, the country found itself in a similar crisis under former President Barack Obama, who also faced a Republican House against raising the ceiling.
While the cap was raised, the threat of default was enough to shake US financial markets and downgrade the country’s rating from AAA to AA+.