It was “a good first meeting,” the brand new Republican chief mentioned — however expectations had been low for fast progress as GOP lawmakers push for steep cuts.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met face-to-face Wednesday for greater than an hour of extremely anticipated funds talks — “a good first meeting,” the brand new Republican chief mentioned — however expectations had been low for fast progress as GOP lawmakers push for steep cuts in a deal to stop a nationwide debt limit crisis.
Biden has resisted direct spending negotiations linked to important motion elevating the nation’s authorized debt ceiling, warning towards probably throwing the financial system into chaos.
McCarthy had all however invited himself to the White House to begin the dialog earlier than a summer debt deadline. And he emerged saying the assembly went higher than anticipated: The two agreed to meet once more, and the speaker mentioned he anticipated to hear from Biden quickly.
“No agreement, no promises except we will continue this conversation,” McCarthy instructed reporters outdoors the White House.
He mentioned he instructed the president he wouldn’t elevate the debt ceiling with out concessions from Democrats.
“I was very clear,” he said. “We’re not spending more next year than we spent this year.”
And Biden’s response? McCarthy mentioned the president insisted on a “clean debt ceiling” vote with out the funds cuts Republicans are demanding.
“We both have different perspectives on this, but I thought this was a good meeting,” McCarthy mentioned.
The White House mentioned the president and the speaker agreed to proceed the dialog.
The House speaker arrived for the afternoon session carrying no formal GOP funds proposal, however he’s laden with the guarantees he made to far-right and different conservative Republican lawmakers throughout his tough campaign to become House speaker. He vowed then to work to return federal spending to 2022 ranges — an 8% discount. He additionally promised to take steps to steadiness the funds inside the decade — an formidable, if politically unattainable aim.
McCarthy mentioned he instructed the president, “I would love to see if we are able to come to an settlement lengthy earlier than the deadline.”
The political and financial stakes are excessive for each leaders, who’ve a cordial relationship, and for the nation as they work to stop a debt default.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen notified Congress final month that the federal government was reaching the limit of its borrowing capacity, $31 trillion, with congressional approval wanted to elevate the ceiling to enable extra debt to repay the nation’s already accrued payments. While Yellen was in a position to launch “extraordinary measures” to cowl the payments briefly, that funding is to run out in June.
“Everyone is asking the same question of Speaker McCarthy: Show us your plan. Where is your plan, Republicans?” mentioned Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., forward of the assembly.
“For days, Speaker McCarthy has heralded this sitdown as some kind of major win in his debt ceiling talks,” Schumer mentioned. But he added, “Speaker McCarthy showing up at the White House without a plan is like sitting down at the table without cards in your hand.”
Raising the debt ceiling is a once-routine vote in Congress that has taken on outsized significance over the previous decade because the nation’s debt toll mounts. Newly empowered within the majority, House Republicans need to power Biden and Senate Democrats into funds cuts as a part of a deal to elevate the restrict.
Ahead of the White House assembly, House Republicans met in personal to discuss insurance policies. And McCarthy met with Senate Republican chief Mitch McConnell on Tuesday on the Capitol.
McConnell has a historical past of dealmaking with Biden over the past debt ceiling showdown a decade in the past. But the GOP chief of the Senate, within the minority celebration, says it is up to McCarthy and the president to give you a deal that may be acceptable to the brand new House majority.
Still, McConnell is doing his half to affect the method from afar, and nudging Biden to negotiate.
“The president of the United States does not get to walk away from the table,” McConnell mentioned in Senate remarks.
Slashing the federal funds is commonly simpler mentioned than achieved, as previous funds offers have proven.
After a 2011 debt ceiling standoff throughout the Obama period, Republicans and Democrats agreed to across-the-board federal funds caps on home and protection spending that had been supposed to be in place for 10 years however finally proved an excessive amount of to bear.
After preliminary cuts, each events agreed in subsequent years to alter the funds caps to defend precedence applications. The caps just lately expired anyway, and final 12 months Congress agreed to a $1.7 trillion federal spending invoice that sparked new outrage amongst fiscal hawks.
McCarthy reiterated that he wouldn’t be proposing any reductions to the Social Security and Medicare applications which might be primarily for older Americans. But different Republicans need cuts to these as a part of general belt-tightening.
Such mainstay applications, together with the Medicaid well being care system, make up the majority of federal spending and are politically tough to lower, notably with a rising inhabitants of these in want of providers in congressional districts nationwide.
Agreeing on the scale and scope of the GOP’s proposed cuts will likely be a tall order for McCarthy as he struggles to construct consensus inside his slim House Republican majority and bridge the divide between his conservative and far-right wings of the celebration.
McCarthy instructed reporters he is not relying on Republican assist alone and needs Democratic assist to cross a deal in Congress. But counting on a bipartisan strategy may deliver a revolt from McCarthy’s hard-right flank of lawmakers who can threaten to oust him from his speakership.
After Wednesday morning’s closed-door House GOP briefing, a number of Republican lawmakers insisted they might not enable the negotiations to spiral right into a debt disaster.
“Obviously, we don’t want to default on our debt. We’re not going to,” mentioned Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio. “But we are going to have to have a discussion about the trajectory that we’re on. Everyone knows that it’s not sustainable.”
Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, held a separate briefing for his group, whose 175 or so members make up many of the House GOP majority.
Hern despatched a letter to McCarthy outlining their rules for funds cuts forward of the White House assembly.
The federal funds’s non-mandatory applications, in protection and home accounts, have additionally confirmed robust to trim.
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