House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Sunday he would meet with President Joe Biden this Wednesday to talk about the nation’s debt limit, as lawmakers try to hash out differences over raising it ahead of a June deadline.
McCarthy told
CBS
News’ Face the Nation that he would try to negotiate with Biden, even though Democrats said the debt limit should be raised without any strings attached.
“I know the president said he didn’t want to have any discussions, but I think it’s very important that our whole government is designed to find compromise,” McCarthy said on the Sunday show.
The White House confirmed the date of the meeting, adding it would be about a wide range of issues.
Republicans have insisted they wouldn’t move on the debt limit unless they could cut spending, while Democrats have argued it would be irresponsible to tie contingencies to raising the debt ceiling. If it isn’t raised, the U.S. could default, and that could trigger a global crisis, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
The nation reached its borrowing limit, $31.4 trillion, on Jan. 19, according to the Treasury Department. The Treasury can make some financial moves to continue to meet its obligations until around early June.
There are various proposals floating around for what kind of spending to cut or prioritize. McCarthy said on CBS that Social Security and Medicare are “totally off the table,” though he did say defense spending could be scrutinized for waste.
McCarthy said when it comes to spending priorities, he wants to work with Democrats to pass a budget. “You cannot continue the spending that has brought this inflation,” he said. “We’ve got to get our spending under control.”
He did say on Sunday the U.S. wouldn’t default.
Write to Liz Moyer at liz.moyer@barrons.com
Credit: marketwatch.com