House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced an upcoming meeting with Speaker Joe Biden on Sunday, which the president said would take place on Wednesday. McCarthy is expected to talk with Biden about raising the federal debt ceiling while controlling government spending, adding that Republicans will not allow the US state to default.
“I know the president said he didn’t want discussions. But I think it’s very important that the primary focus of all of our government’s work is to find a compromise,” McCarthy said in an interview with CBS. “I want to find a reasonable and responsible way to raise the cap on debt (and) get that spending spree under control,” McCarthy added.
This month, the US Treasury took emergency cash management measures to avoid exceeding the $31.4 trillion federal debt limit set by Congress. The Treasury Department has already said it may not have enough cash to pay government bills by early June, posing the biggest default risk since 2011.
“There will be no default,” McCarthy said. “But what’s really irresponsible is what the Democrats are doing right now, saying we should just raise the limit.”
A White House spokesperson declined to comment, but a White House official with knowledge of the meeting’s plans confirmed it would take place on Wednesday. Biden had previously promised to discuss debt with McCarthy, but the White House said it would not negotiate a debt ceiling increase.
Biden administration officials touted the planned meeting with McCarthy as an opportunity to develop a ‘working relationship’ between the two leaders Most Republicans in the House and Senate said they would not support the raise of the debt ceiling without budget cuts or reform of the structure of government spending. .
