McCarthy said on Twitter on Saturday that “the White House is backing down in negotiations.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement on Saturday evening that McCarthy’s team came up with a plan on Friday that “was a big step backwards and contained a set of extreme partisan demands. that could never pass through both houses of Congress”.
The two sides held a brief meeting Friday night that lasted less than an hour and ended just after 7:30 p.m. local time. This was after both sides claimed earlier on Friday that negotiations had completely stalled. The groups walked out of the meeting without reaching an agreement but were to maintain contact, CBS News has learned.
Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina said “no” when asked if he expected a resolution over the weekend. The two sides had a “frank discussion,” according to GOP Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana, who spoke to reporters as he left the meeting Friday night.
However, Steve Ricchetti, a White House negotiator, told reporters, “we’re going to keep working tonight.”
Earlier Friday, when negotiations first stalled, McCarthy’s chief negotiator Graves accused the White House of being “unreasonable.” When Graves left that previous meeting, he observed, “We’re not there yet.” Graves claimed the decision to take a break was made “because it’s just not productive” and “they’re just being unreasonable.”
The Chamber approved a solid package with significant cost reductions that is responsible and puts us on the right track to bend the curve. We’re not going to sit here and talk to each other until people are willing to have rational discussions about how to move forward and do the right thing. So, he says, that’s what’s happening. Graves admitted he had no idea when the band might meet again.
Uncertainty over the specific issue hampering negotiations was followed by a wide gap between conflicting goals and spending priorities on both sides. Spending caps, according to a GOP aide, could be one of the sticking points, while a Democratic aide found encouragement in the fact that the White House appeared to be holding its own and not “give the firm”. The Democratic aide once again stressed the need for bipartisanship in any deal.
The White House is concerned that Republican negotiators’ proposal to cut overall spending while increasing defense spending could lead to deeper cuts in non-military discretionary spending, which includes spending such as health care and education.
The fact that President Biden is in Japan for a gathering of G7 leaders only exacerbates the situation. He was expected to end his trip to the Asia-Pacific region early and return to Washington on Sunday to handle the situation.
From Japan, Biden told reporters on Saturday he believed a deal could be reached. I still think we can avoid defaulting and we will make progress, Biden added.
The White House acknowledged that there were “real differences between the parties on budget issues” and predicted that “the talks will be difficult”, but added that “[t]The President’s team is working hard toward a reasonable bipartisan solution that can pass the House and Senate.”
The apparent setback came after McCarthy and Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate, both expressed optimism about the state of negotiations on Thursday. The president said he can “see the path on which we can come to an agreement”, and Schumer said the talks are “progressing”.
Asked about similar remarks on Friday, McCarthy said he “really believes we’re at the place where I can see the future” but “we can’t spend more money next year, we have to spend less than last year. It’s quite simple.
By June 1, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the United States may be unable to pay its debts. If Congress does not act to raise or suspend the debt ceiling by early June, and possibly as early as June 1, “[W]We still believe that the Treasury will probably no longer be able to meet all government obligations,” Yellen wrote earlier this week.
Democrats previously hoped for a “clean” increase in the debt ceiling, but Republicans hope to cut spending and add work requirements for programs, among other things.
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