"Debt Ceiling Solution Must Be Able To Secure Democratic Votes"

Reuters carrying comments from a White House official stating that, "any debt ceiling solution must be able to secure Democratic votes, not just House Freedom Caucus."

• The official continued, "[Speaker] McCarthy's [R-CA] team last week moved in more partisan direction, Biden continues to look for bipartisan solution to debt ceiling."
• "McCarthy’s team had proposed additional nutrition program cuts and annual funding caps three times longer than any recent budget deal."
• The comments come as negotiators emerge from a round of preparatory talks ahead of the key meeting between Biden and McCarthy scheduled to take place at 17:30 ET 22:30 BST.
• Jake Sherman at Punchbowl News reports that Rep Garret Graves (R-LA), McCarthy's representatives in talks, "just exited McCarthy's office, where Republicans were meeting with White House negotiators. The Louisiana Republican ignored all questions from reporters."
• Garret Haake at NBC: "Nobody talking to reporters at all. If you’re a tea leaf reader on this kind of thing, silence usually indicates more progress than chatter, but it’s [up in the air]."
• Rep Patrick McHenry (R-NC), one of the GOP negotiators, told reporters: “There’s still not agreement on a few major items and more work has to be done.”