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The US debt ceiling agreement entered a more encouraging phase after the meeting between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who appointed high-level negotiators to reach a deal before the June 1 deadline.
A window opens. After an hour of talks between Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy, the latter assured that the two parties were still far from agreeing but that “it is possible to reach an agreement before the end of the week.”
“It’s not that hard to reach an agreement,” McCarthy said at the conclusion of the meeting. Democrats are not as optimistic but the White House called the meetings “productive and direct.” “There is still work to be done,” Biden said. ” We are on the way forward to make sure the United States does not default on its debt,” he added.
Biden is pushing Republicans to accept his methods of raising revenue, such as raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations to fund his 2024 budget, but Republicans want Biden to accept spending cuts in the federal budget
“We know we’re not going to default,” said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
The United States could default on some debts on June 1 unless Congress votes to raise the debt ceiling, and economists fear this could lead to a recession with global impacts.
Biden will cut short his trip to the Indo-Pacific that begins on Wednesday, skipping a historic stop in Papua New Guinea, as well as a visit to Australia for talks with Quad leaders. The cancellation of two of the three stages of the trip represents a setback for the foreign policy of the administration and its rapprochement with the Pacific region.
On Wednesday Biden travels to Hiroshima, Japan, to attend the G7 summit with leaders from some of the world’s largest economies. He will return to the United States on Sunday to announce a likely deal with the Republicans.
“I am going to postpone the trip to Australia and my stop in Papua New Guinea to be back for the final negotiations with the leaders of the Congress,” the president commented, adding: “The nature of the presidency is to address many of the issues critical to time. So I am confident that we will continue to move forward to avoid default and meet America’s responsibility as a leader on the world stage.”
With Reuters and AP
