President Joe Biden updated the White House on the debt ceiling negotiations with a possible unprecedented date, stating that “there will be no default.”
White House negotiators and congressional leaders continued to discuss what they said were “progress,” though he acknowledged serious disagreements remain. Despite this, Biden claims that the disagreements are about differences over what will happen as a budget, not about whether or not the United States should default on its loans.
“The negotiations that we had with President McCarthy are about what the budget looks like, not a default,” Biden said. “These versions of the United States are at odds with each other,” he added.
And according to him both parties agreed that there would be no default.
“The only way forward is with a bipartisan consensus,” he added. “And I think we’re going to come to an agreement that moves us forward and protects the working Americans in this country,” he told reporters.
For the past few months, the Biden administration has refused to negotiate with McCarthy on the debt limit, arguing that the country’s full faith and trust should not be used for party priorities.
Republicans demand cuts in exchange for votes to raise the nation’s debt limit. The White House offers to freeze next year at current levels and restrict spending by 2025, which McCarthy is not satisfied with.
Time is short to draft a bill and pass both houses of Congress in time to avoid a possible default on June 1, which experts say would have serious consequences for the U.S. and world economy.
with PA *
