“Yes, we have to stop,” McCarthy told reporters in Congress, in response to questions about the status of the talks. It came after the White House confirmed there were “real differences” between the two sides over how to resolve the crisis.
The chief Republican negotiator said talks between Republican members of the House of Representatives and President Joe Biden’s administration on raising the debt ceiling came to a “temporary” halt today, while the White House said a deal was still possible.
The two sides have little time to reach an agreement to raise the federal government’s $31.4 trillion borrowing limit or risk a catastrophic default. And the Treasury has warned that the government may not be able to pay all of its obligations by June 1.
And US media quoted Rep. Garrett Graves, the chief Republican negotiator who was appointed by Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy, as saying, “We’ve decided to hit the pause button because it’s not is not productive”.
A White House official said a deal was still possible.
“If both sides negotiate in good faith and realize they won’t get everything they want, a deal is still possible,” the official said.
And on Thursday, Democratic President Joe Biden and the Republican House Leader showed some optimism that a preliminary deal could be reached, while Republicans called for budget cuts before giving the go-ahead to raise the debt ceiling.
“I really thought we had reached a breakthrough,” McCarthy said, adding, “We can’t spend any more money next year.”
On Wall Street, the stock market fell in the middle of the trading session on Friday, after being more confident in the morning amid optimistic comments the day before.
President Joe Biden, who is currently attending the G7 summit in Japan, is due to return to Washington on Sunday. On Thursday, he had expressed his hope of concluding a preliminary agreement with the Republican opposition.
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