McCarthy Wants to Restart Talks on Debt Limit

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Tuesday called on President Biden to return to the negotiating table on a budget and the debt ceiling.

Not much has changed since McCarthy and Biden discussed the debt limit at the White House in early February. Republicans still want major spending cuts included as part of any deal and the White House prefers a clean deal to prevent the nation from defaulting on its debts.

“House Republicans are united in our view that the best way to reduce the national debt is to limit spending,” McCarthy said in a letter to Biden. “I am prepared to sit down to discuss a variety of means to do so that would achieve trillions of dollars in savings.”

The White House responded to McCarthy’s letter by pointing out that House Republicans have yet to pass a budget resolution, while the White House put out its 2024 budget blueprint earlier this month.

“It’s time for Republicans to stop playing games [and] agree to pass a clean debt ceiling bill,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “And if they want to have a conversation about our nation’s economic and fiscal future, it’s time for them to put out a budget – as the president has done.”

The Treasury Department has already initiated a series of technical moves known as “extraordinary measures” to avoid a potentially disastrous default on the nation’s debt. These moves are expected to hold the government over until early June.