Negotiators Closer On How To Solve Impasse, Biden/McCarthy Meet Monday

Currently staff-level talks on an agreement to lift the US debt ceiling are taking place in Washington. President Biden and House Speaker McCarthy are scheduled to meet again on Monday after having had a “productive” phone conversation on Sunday, according to Reuters. A deal by the end of the weekend just gone was ambitious, as comments became more heated as the week progressed.

• Following his call with Biden, McCarthy said that “There’s no agreement. We’re still apart”, but the discussion on how the differences could be solved was “productive”.
• Before Biden left for Japan he said that the Democrats would be prepared to cut spending and make some tax changes but that the current Republican deal was “unacceptable”.
• The deadline is June 1, which is when the Treasury has said that the government won’t be able to meet its debts. McCarthy has said that House representatives will be given 72 hours to review the debt-ceiling deal before voting.