McCarthy says he'll meet with Biden after 'productive' debt ceiling call

WASHINGTON — After he spoke to President Joe Biden by telephone Sunday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., mentioned they’ve agreed to meet in individual Monday afternoon to work towards a deal on lifting the debt ceiling.

McCarthy and Biden mentioned the debt ceiling in a call Sunday whereas the president was flying again on Air Force One from the G-7 summit in Japan, after negotiations final week between senior White House aides and House Republicans failed to interrupt an deadlock.

“My discussion with the President I think was productive,” McCarthy instructed NBC News after their call, including that the president had requested to meet in individual Monday and he accepted the supply.

“I think we can solve some of these problems,” McCarthy mentioned. “But I’ve been very clear to him from the very beginning, we have to spend less money than we spent last year.”

McCarthy mentioned each side are “still apart,” however he and the president had determined throughout their call to get their negotiators again collectively.

“Let them brief up the president, let him get some sleep. And he wanted to get together personally tomorrow, I agreed to that, we’d do that sometime in the afternoon,” he said. “Time is of the essence.”

A White House official confirmed the upcoming Monday assembly between Biden and McCarthy and mentioned that their staffs may even reconvene at 6 p.m. Sunday night to debate remaining points.

McCarthy praised White House negotiators for participating in “very professional” discussions.

“I have great respect for the individuals on the president’s team,” he mentioned. “They’re bright, they’re articulate, they know exactly what they’re doing. We may philosophically disagree, but we have respect for one another, because we’re coming from a place of principles. And when you come from a place of principles, normally at the end of the day, you can find common ground and keep your principles at the same time.”

The call between Biden and McCarthy got here shortly after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen mentioned on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that early June is a “hard deadline” for the federal authorities to lift the debt ceiling and warned that payments will go unpaid if Congress fails to achieve a deal earlier than the U.S. runs out of cash.

“I indicated in my last letter to Congress that we expect to be unable to pay all of our bills in early June and possibly as soon as June 1. And I will continue to update Congress, but I certainly haven’t changed my assessment,” Yellen mentioned. “So I think that that’s a hard deadline.”

During a press convention in Japan on Sunday, the president urged Republicans to “move from their extreme positions,” which he criticized as “frankly unacceptable,” in his opening remarks.

“It’s time for Republicans to accept that there is no bipartisan deal to be made solely solely on their partisan terms,” he mentioned. “They have to move as well.”

Republicans returned to the debt ceiling negotiating desk Friday night time after quickly placing a maintain on talks with the White House, which they mentioned have been “not productive.”

Part of the hang-up in negotiations is that House Republicans wish to drive main spending cuts which are opposed by Biden and useless on arrival within the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Democrats are reluctant to just accept a spending restrict that’s decrease than present ranges, a supply acquainted with the social gathering’s stance instructed NBC News final week. The social gathering could want to take care of current ranges, even when it means a brand new spending deal fails and the federal government runs on autopilot by means of a unbroken decision.

Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., who was tapped by McCarthy to guide negotiations with the White House, instructed reporters Sunday that “a lot of progress” has been made in discussions on the debt ceiling.

“If you go through the laundry list of about 50 items, we have made a lot of progress,” Graves mentioned. “Understanding one another’s positions, understanding red lines. And so I think that we have really been able to come close, much closer than we were when we started.”