Staff Reports
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California met with President Biden to talk about the debt ceiling. This is the second time they have met, following their initial meeting last week. The situation could be hopeful as the president decided to shorten his trip to address the issue.
Despite the progress that has been made in the negotiations, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy noted that there is still a lot of work to be done before a deal can be reached. On Tuesday afternoon, he told reporters that the two sides were still far apart. White House officials Steve Ricchetti and Shalanda Young will be leading talks with Congressman Garrett Graves and McCarthy’s team.
Since February, the members of the Senate have been preparing for the situation regarding the debt ceiling. Their plan, which was supported by the Senate Opportunity Fund, aims to return unspent carbon credit funds to taxpayers, limit future spending, and create a work force with help from energy costs and supply chain.
During his speech, McCarthy criticized the Biden administration for failing to take the issue seriously from the beginning. He noted that it took the president over a hundred days to resolve the issue. He also said that the lack of urgency was caused by the administration's belief that people only care about raising the debt ceiling.
Despite the progress that has already been made, McCarthy noted that the timeline for reaching an agreement still remains unclear. He said that although the discussions have made progress, it doesn’t mean that an agreement will be reached. He noted that it could still be possible to reach an agreement by the end of this week.
I'm willing to meet again today and continue meeting until we get this done. https://t.co/vnvPQ59jwR
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) May 16, 2023
Earlier this month, Janet Yellen, the Treasury Secretary, said that the deadline for reaching an agreement on the debt ceiling would be on June 1. Despite this, McCarthy is still concerned about the possibility that an agreement can still be reached before the deadline.
Source: Townhall
