Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., conducts a news conference with house and senate Republicans on the “debt crisis,” on the west plaza of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, May 17, 2023.
Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Thursday he’s optimistic that congressional negotiators could reach a deal to lift or suspend the debt ceiling in time to carry a House vote on it next week.
“I see the trail that we will come to an agreement,” McCarthy told reporters within the Capitol. “And I believe we now have a structure now and everybody’s working hard, and I mean, we’re working two or thrice a day, then going back, getting more numbers.”
Investors have been watching Washington closely this week for any signs of progress within the monthslong debt limit standoff.
White House negotiators huddled with McCarthy’s team within the Capitol complex Thursday, continuing their efforts to hammer out a deal that should pass the Republican majority House and the Democratic-controlled Senate ahead of a possible June 1 deadline, the soonest date the Treasury could run out of money to pay debts already incurred.
McCarthy declined to offer reporters any latest details about what exactly was being discussed behind closed doors. He said, “I do not think it’s productive in case you go write something after which everyone who just isn’t within the room all get mad over things.”
“I just imagine where we were every week ago and where we’re today is a significantly better place, because we have got the fitting people within the room discussing it in a really skilled manner, with all of the knowledge, all of the background from all different leaders,” McCarthy added.
The comments amount to a remarkable shift in tone from the Republican House speaker, who until now has sounded more pessimistic than either the White House or congressional Democrats concerning the odds of a compromise that might win the support of his fractious caucus.
McCarthy’s newfound optimism got here after a key meeting on the White House on Tuesday, after which President Joe Biden dispatched two of his most trusted negotiators to launch a latest round of talks: Presidential counselor Steve Ricchetti and Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young.
Leading the talks on the Republican side is Louisiana Rep. Garret Graves, who worked as a committee staffer within the House and Senate before being elected to office in his own right.
Like Graves, Young also worked as a House staffer for a few years. Together, they carry to the talks a first-hand knowledge of find out how to move complex laws through the lower chamber.
Setting aside partisan rhetoric, McCarthy took time to praise on the White House team Thursday.
“I actually have the best respect for Shalanda and for Ricchetti. They’re exceptionally, smart, tough, they’re strong of their beliefs on the Democratic side, just as who we now have within the room,” he told reporters within the Capitol’s Statuary Hall.
“They’re working through it in a really skilled manner, seeing where we will have the opportunity to lift the debt ceiling, taking concerns of what the House has, and others, and put a bill together that may turn into law,” said McCarthy.
Each the House and Senate prepared to go away for the weekend on Thursday, with the Senate not expected to be back in session until the previous couple of days of May.
While McCarthy’s apparent turnaround was welcome news for jittery markets, it set off warning bells for congressional Democrats.
Members of the president’s own party have turn into increasingly apprehensive this week that Biden is giving House Republicans the upper hand, despite the undeniable fact that Democrats control of each the White House and the Senate.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of Latest York warned that a key Republican demand Biden has said he’s open to — stricter work requirements for some federal assistance programs — was a “nonstarter, period, full stop” for House Democrats.
Within the Senate, meanwhile, a gaggle of progressive Democrats urged Biden to maintain open the choice of invoking the 14th Amendment, which states that “the validity of the general public debt of america … shall not be questioned.”
However the legal theory that the president can simply ignore the debt ceiling by citing the Structure’s requirement that the country pay its bills has not been tested in court.
Earlier this month, Biden said he had considered the 14th Amendment, but concluded that it could not prevent a default.
“The issue is it could need to be litigated. And within the meantime, without an extension, it could still find yourself in the identical place,” Biden said on the White House.
Correction: McCarthy spoke concerning the debt ceiling deal Thursday. An earlier version misstated when he spoke. Garret Graves is a representative from Louisiana. An earlier version misspelled his name.