McCarthy and Biden ‘still far apart’ in debt ceiling talks despite nearing deadline
Debt ceiling talks between Joe Biden and the House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, dragged on Wednesday, as negotiators met again to hash out the details of a potential deal.
“There’s a number of places that we’re still far apart,” McCarthy told reporters on Capitol Hill. “I think we can make progress today. I’m hoping that we can.”
McCarthy said his advisers would meet with Biden administration officials at the White House on Wednesday afternoon to “try to finish out the negotiations”, with eight days left to avoid a federal default.
Accusing Biden of acquiescing to the “extreme” wing of his party, McCarthy reiterated that he would not support a “clean” bill raising the debt ceiling without cutting government spending. The White House has pushed for reducing the federal deficit by increasing taxes on large corporations and the wealthiest Americans, but McCarthy rejected that proposal, insisting that the negotiations must focus on the spending side.
“We have to spend less than we spent last year,” McCarthy said. “It’s not a revenue problem. It’s a spending problem.”
Asked what concessions McCarthy was willing to offer Democrats to win their support on a potential bipartisan bill raising the debt ceiling, the speaker sidestepped the question.
“I’m willing to make America stronger, to curb inflation, less dependency on China and spend less than we spent the year before,” McCarthy replied. “It’s not my responsibility to represent the socialist wing of the Democratic party.”
The clock is ticking for lawmakers to reach a solution and prevent a default that could reap devastating consequences on the American economy and global markets. The treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, reiterated in a letter sent to congressional leaders on Monday that
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