Negotiations in Washington DC over the debt ceiling have taken a big step back over the weekend, as the White House and House Republicans continue to point fingers at each other.
"It seems as though he wants default more than he wants a deal," House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told Fox News on Sunday. "We have got 11 days to go," McCarthy continued, urging Biden and the Democrats to be "sensible about this."
Republicans have been pushing for substantial, longer-term spending reductions, arguing that Congress needs to roll the nation's deficit spending back to 2022 levels, while restricting the growth of government spending. The White House, on the other hand, wants to achieve policy goals via taxation.
McCarthy said there’s some talk of extending the debt ceiling until 2025, but he said he’s demanding cuts to federal spending in exchange for GOP votes to do so. Biden, he said, is resisting.
“The president keeps changing positions every time Bernie Sanders has a press conference,” he said.
McCarthy said Biden is demanding tax increases after earlier agreeing to keep them off the table. He also said Republicans have made compromises but didn’t specify them. -Bloomberg
Meanwhile, Biden - speaking at a press conference held after the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Hiroshima, said that he would speak with McCarthy shortly, though he added that the Republican plan was unacceptable.
"The speaker and I’ll be talking later on the plane as we head back," said Biden. "And our teams are going to continue working."