Joe Biden said White House officials were “moving forward” in budget talks with Republicans to avoid a debt default, although time was running out for any deal to be struck before the government ran out of money to pay off all of its debt soon. next week.
The US president made headlines when he presented an update on negotiations to end the economic crisis in Washington during a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden on Thursday afternoon.
“Prophet [Kevin] McCarthy and I have had several good conversations and our staff continues to meet as we speak – and they are making progress,” Biden said. “I am confident that we will reach an agreement that will allow us to move forward and protect hardworking Americans across the country.”
His comments came a day after Fitch, the credit rating agency, warned can download The expectation of the US triple A due to the “sight” on the US debt limit, amid growing concern that the financial crisis will increase in the coming days without compromise.
Both Biden and McCarthy, the Republican House Speaker, have been facing calls from members of their own parties not to give up on the final negotiations.
McCarthy also spoke on the phone Thursday with former President Donald Trump, who has called on Republicans to accept default if Biden does not agree to more spending cuts. He then met with top Republican lawmakers in his office. “Every hour counts,” McCarthy told ABC News.
House members are heading home for Memorial Day weekend but have been told they may have to return to Washington soon.
The US Treasury has warned that many economies around the world may run out of money to pay off all their debts starting June 1risking its first sovereign debt default.
Congressional aides say the process of getting a deal through both chambers of Congress and to Biden for signature is running out of time. “The sand is almost gone for debt,” Chris Krueger, an analyst at TD Cowen’s Washington Research Group, wrote in a note Thursday.
He said that if a deal is reached on Friday, the first bill that would pass the House was Tuesday, after which it would be fast-tracked through the Senate the next day.
“This strategy is optimistic and takes the highest level of skill to kill whatever is going on,” he added.
Business groups in Washington have been urging both sides to come to an agreement as soon as possible to avoid economic and financial crises.
“It starts to grow if there is no deal in the next 24 hours,” said Neil Bradley, chief policy officer at the US Chamber of Commerce. “We’re in a window where you want things to go well.”
Speaking at an event organized by the Investment Company Institute earlier in the day, Wally Adeyemo, the deputy Treasury secretary, lamented that the suspension had come down to the wire.
“I think everyone’s goal is to make sure we raise the debt. But more importantly, as all of you in this room know [and] what the American people know, is that we should not be here,” he said. “This is a manufactured problem.”