White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre expressed optimism from Hiroshima Saturday morning that a debt deal can still be struck with Republicans in Congress as debt talks stalled while President Joe Biden slept.
“So the president is very confident there is a way forward,” she said from Japan around 10 a.m. local time, adding that Biden was “all over this” and she expected him to “be briefed in a moment.” by the team’.
But she added that the White House and Republicans still disagree.
So look, there’s no doubt we have serious disagreements. And this remains a difficult conversation,” said Jean-Pierre.
Back in Washington, Rep. Garrett Graves followed White House negotiators left a Friday meeting in the speaker’s office, telling reporters they had paused negotiations because they were “unproductive” and the Biden administration was making “unreasonable requests.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre held a news conference from Hiroshima on Saturday morning. She said there were “serious disagreements” between the White House and the GOP over the budget, but said President Joe Biden was “all over it” and “confident” that a debt deal could be achieved
WHILE YOU SLEEP: While President Joe Biden (left) was in Hiroshima, Japan for the G7 summit, debt ceiling talks between the White House and Congressional Republicans stalled
“Yes, we’re on a break,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy confirmed to reporters just a day after he expressed hope that a deal could be on the floor next week.
Biden left a G7 leadership dinner early Friday night, with Jean-Pierre saying the “plan” was for him to receive an update from his team in Washington.
The first hiccup, however, occurred around 1:30 a.m. local time, when the president was napping.
Negotiations briefly resumed in Washington for an hour and a half on Friday night, but no progress was made.
“The president’s team will continue to work hard on a reasonable bipartisan solution that can pass the House and Senate, because we need Republicans and Democrats for this,” Jean-Pierre said.
It will now be less than two weeks before the Treasury runs out of money to pay the country’s bills, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen setting the deadline for June 1.
The debt drama in Washington has overshadowed Biden’s performance at the G7 in Hiroshima.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy confirmed to reporters on Friday that negotiators had reached a “pause.” Talks resumed for an hour and a half on Friday night, but no further progress has been made
It already caused him to cut short the trip.
He was due to leave Hiroshima on Monday and travel to Papua New Guinea and then to Australia for a Quad meeting.
He is now flying home late on Sunday after adjusting his schedule to include a Quad member meeting on Saturday night.
“It’s certainly an issue of interest here at the G7,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said at the Saturday morning briefing. “Countries want to have an idea of how these negotiations will go.”
However, he added that “this does not cause alarm.”
Sullivan said Biden has “expressed confidence” that the US can avoid a default.
“And part of the reason he’s returning home tomorrow instead of continuing on the rest of the journey is so he can help lead the effort to bring it home,” Sullivan said.
Any deal will have to appeal to moderates on both sides, as both the Republican right and the progressive Democrats have other plans.
The conservative House Freedom caucus is sticking to the House bill passed in late April that included widespread budget cuts.
That bill has no chance of passing the Senate.
Former President Donald Trump – who is running for president – has issued his own 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!!!’
A number of progressive Democratic senators have urged Biden to use the 14th Amendment to unilaterally lift the debt ceiling.
Senator Bernie Sanders sent a letter Thursday saying, “We are writing to urge you to prepare to exercise your authority under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.”
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.
Biden has pointed to going to court as a reason why he would be hesitant to lift the debt ceiling using the 14th Amendment.
Yellen has also expressed suspicion when asked about the idea.