A second meeting on Friday between White House and Republican congressional negotiators on raising the federal government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling broke up with no progress cited by either side and no additional meeting set.
That got here at the top of a day of acrimonious talks that were broken off for several hours, with lower than two weeks to go before June 1, when the Treasury Department warned that the federal government may very well be unable to pay all its debts. That might trigger a calamitous default.
The White House acknowledged that “serious differences” remained with Republicans who control the House of Representatives and who’ve said they are going to not approve a rise within the federal government’s borrowing limit without agreement on sharp spending cuts.
“There continues to be real … differences between the parties on these issues,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in Hiroshima, Japan, where President Joe Biden is attending a gathering of leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy nations.
The lead Republican within the talks said no progress had been made on Friday.
“We had a really, very candid discussion talking about where we’re, talking about where things should be,” Republican Representative Garret Graves told reporters following a second temporary meeting within the Capitol with White House officials.
“This wasn’t a negotiation tonight,” Graves said, adding the timing of the subsequent meeting was not set.
He echoed remarks by House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy that progress needed to be made on changing the “trajectory” of U.S. government deficit spending and rapidly rising debt.
“We now have to spend lower than the yr before,” McCarthy said.
The talks have hung over Biden’s meeting with world powers in Japan. A second Republican negotiator, Representative Patrick McHenry, said he was not confident the 2 sides could meet McCarthy’s goal of reaching a deal this weekend, which could then be presented to Congress for passage in coming days.
Senior White House adviser Steve Ricchetti left the meeting room telling reporters that he was “not assessing” the talks.
A gathering earlier on Friday ended abruptly with McCarthy telling reporters there had not been any “movement” from the White House toward Republican demands.
U.S. stocks closed the week on a soft note after news of the stalled negotiations. Republicans are pushing for sharp spending cuts in exchange for the rise in the federal government’s self-imposed borrowing limit, a move needed usually to cover costs of spending and tax cuts previously approved by lawmakers.
Republicans control the House of Representatives by a 222-213 margin, while Biden’s Democrats have a 51-49 Senate majority, making it difficult to string the needle with a deal that may find enough votes to pass each chambers.
Democrats have been pushing to carry spending regular at this yr’s levels, while Republicans need to return to 2022 levels. A plan passed by the House last month would cut a large swath of presidency spending by 8% next yr.
That plan doesn’t specify what spending could be cut, but some Republicans have said they might shield military and veterans programs. Democrats say that will force average cuts of at the very least 22% on domestic programs like education and law enforcement, a figure top Republicans haven’t disputed.
Some Republicans have criticized Biden for taking the trip to Japan at a key point within the talks.
Biden and McCarthy spent many of the yr in an impasse with the White House insisting on a “clean” increase within the debt ceiling without conditions. Republicans said they might only vote for a deal that cut spending.
They agreed to two-way talks, with the White House represented by Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Ricchetti. McCarthy was represented by Graves and McHenry.
Republicans have taken a tough line. On Thursday, the House Freedom Caucus urged the Senate to vote on a previously passed House bill that will raise the limit through March in exchange for 10 years of sharp spending cuts.
House and Senate Democrats have raised concern over the inclusion within the talks of latest work requirements for some federal profit programs for low-income Americans.
The last time the nation got this near default was in 2011, also with a Democratic president and Senate alongside a Republican-led House.
Congress eventually averted default, however the economy endured heavy shocks, including the first-ever downgrade of the US’ top-tier credit standing and a serious stock sell-off.
