House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he had a “productive discussion” with President Biden on Monday despite the fact that no agreement has been reached to raise the nation’s borrowing limit.
“I felt we had a productive discussion,” McCarthy said outside the Oval Office. “We don’t have an agreement yet, but I did feel the discussion was productive in areas that we have differences of opinion.”
McCarthy added that negotiators for both the White House and House Republicans will continue talking through the night in the hopes of hashing out an agreement before the June 1 deadline to raise the debt ceiling before a possible default.
The talks came one day after McCarthy accused Biden of suddenly pivoting to the demands of the Democrats’ “socialist wing” on the debt ceiling negotiations.
“Now, the president, even though he was overseas, thought to change places… I don’t understand that,” McCarthy told Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”
“The president has really shifted right after the more progressive socialist wing of the party stood up and says they want to spend more money.”
The speaker claimed that the president wanted “a default more than he wants a deal.”
On Monday, McCarthy characterized the tone of his meeting with Biden as “better” than previous discussion.
“I think the tone tonight was better than any other time we’ve had discussions,” McCarthy said of Monday’s discussion with the 80-year-old commander-in-chief.
“I felt it was productive because, look, we both know, we’ve walked through this for a long time, where our differences, we’re explaining them, we’re giving a give and take of what we think would be best for moving the country forward. We still will have some philosophical differences, but I felt it was productive in that manner, in the manner in which we produced, and I think we were able to really focus on the areas of difference,” he added.
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and one of McCarthy’s top negotiators, echoed the speaker’s takeaway.
“This meeting was productive. It told us, as the negotiating team, a little more of the details we need to get to a package, a package that can pass Congress. But to hear the speaker and the president air their views directly with one another, no acrimony, but it was productive and it was a meaningful discussion and helpful to us getting a construct that can protect everyone’s equity,” McHenry said..
However, back on Capitol Hill, the North Carolina Republican told reporters that he sensed a “lack of urgency” from Biden and his team to get a deal done.
“I chair the Financial Services Committee, I’m worried about the impacts on the markets, I think, to play brinksmanship is not wise when it comes to where we are with the banking system, with the economy, and I think we should have a sense of urgency from the White House team that was not evident in this meeting,” McHenry said.
“I had an expectation personally of walking into the room and hearing the president and the speaker being aligned that we need to come to terms quickly, given how long it takes to get anything through the House and through the Senate, especially with the deadline looming. I just didn’t sense that from the president,” he added.
McCarthy was adamant that any deal must require the government to spend less money next year —and that he wouldn’t consider putting a debt ceiling bill that doesn’t address government spending up for a House vote.
The House speaker was also determined not to agree to any deal that would raise taxes, arguing that government revenues as a percentage of GDP are at the highest level since 2000, or cut defense spending.
The president on Monday seemed to agree with McCarthy’s general assessment of the meeting.
“I just concluded a productive meeting with Speaker McCarthy about the need to prevent default and avoid a catastrophe for our economy,” Biden wrote in a tweet. “We reiterated once again that default is off the table and the only way to move forward is in good faith toward a bipartisan agreement.”
“While there are areas of disagreement, the Speaker and I, and his lead negotiators Chairman McHenry and Congressman Graves, and our staffs will continue to discuss the path forward,” he added.
McCarthy indicated that he expects to continue discussion with Biden over the phone on Tuesday.
In April, House Republicans passed legislation that would allow the federal government to borrow another $1.5 trillion or raise the debt ceiling until March 31, 2024 – whichever milestone could be reached first – in exchange for discretionary-spending cuts for non-defense programs.
The legislation would also limit the growth of future expenditures to 1% per year for the next decade.
The bill was dead on arrival in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and Biden said he would not sign it even if it were to pass the upper chamber.