McCarthy says ‘decisions have to be made’ at debt ceiling meeting with Biden

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Monday that "decisions person to beryllium made" astatine his gathering with President Joe Biden aboriginal successful the time astatine the White House, with lone 10 days to spell until the U.S. risks default.

"We've got to person movement" successful bid to person advancement toward a woody to rise the indebtedness ceiling, McCarthy told reporters successful the Capitol. "I cognize wherever I deliberation radical should beryllium capable to get to."

McCarthy spoke pursuing 3 hours of negotiations betwixt White House and House Republican envoys implicit however to scope an statement to rise the indebtedness limit.

Biden and McCarthy's gathering comes aft a melodramatic play during which talks broke down Friday implicit an impasse connected authorities spending levels, but resumed respective hours later.

The 2 leaders spoke by telephone Sunday evening, a speech they described arsenic "productive." It could acceptable the signifier for question toward a woody this week. Biden and McCarthy are acceptable to conscionable astatine 5:30 p.m. ET connected Monday successful the Oval Office.

On Monday, 1 of the GOP negotiators, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., said helium was "concerned astir getting a woody that tin walk the House, the Senate, and signed by the president."

"It's a analyzable portion of math, it is," McHenry told CNN.

"We're astatine a precise delicate constituent here, and the extremity is to get thing that tin beryllium legislated into law," helium added.

McHenry was joined successful the talks by Rep. Garret Graves, R-La. The White House squad is comprised of statesmanlike counsellor Steve Ricchetti, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young and legislative affairs manager Louisa Terrell.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reaffirmed connected Sunday that June 1 is the government's "hard deadline" to rise the indebtedness bounds oregon look a apt archetypal ever nationalist indebtedness default.

"We expect to beryllium incapable to wage all of our bills successful aboriginal June, and perchance arsenic soon arsenic June 1," Yellen told NBC's "Meet the Press."

"My appraisal is that the likelihood of reaching June 15 portion being capable to wage each of our bills is rather low," she said, with the caveat that determination would ever beryllium uncertainty astir nonstop gross and payments.

Both Biden and McCarthy person acknowledged that 1 of the main sticking points successful the talks remains the question of spending caps, a cardinal GOP request but a reddish enactment truthful acold for the White House. Raising the indebtedness bounds would not authorize caller spending, but Republicans person insisted connected sweeping cuts to authorities outlays arsenic portion of a woody to hike the borrowing limit.

"The underlying contented present is that Democrats, since they took the majority, person been addicted to spending. And that's going to stop. We're going to walk little than we spent past year," McCarthy said to reporters Monday greeting successful the Capitol.

Biden is hoping to scope a indebtedness bounds woody that would propulsion the adjacent deadline retired past the 2024 statesmanlike election. But House Republicans, who truthful acold person endorsed lone a one-year hike, accidental that if Biden wants much time, past helium volition request to hold to adjacent much cuts.

Over the weekend, the president besides faulted Republicans for demanding that immense chunks of national discretionary spending beryllium exempted from their projected topline fund cuts, including defence and perchance veterans wellness benefits.

If these categories were really to beryllium exempted, Biden explained, past cuts to each the different discretionary spending would request to beryllium overmuch deeper successful bid to marque up the difference.

Across-the-board cuts similar these "make perfectly nary consciousness astatine all," Biden said Sunday successful Japan, wherever helium was attending the Group of Seven Summit. "It's clip for Republicans to judge that determination is nary bipartisan woody to beryllium made solely, solely, connected their partisan terms."