House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has accepted President Biden’s invitation to meet next week regarding the looming debt ceiling deadline.
A senior House Republican leadership aide confirmed Tuesday that Mr. McCarthy, California Republican, will meet with the president May 9 at the White House. Also attending the meeting will be House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Mr. McCarthy’s invitation to the meeting marked an abrupt change for the president, who has refused to negotiate with Republicans on raising the debt ceiling in exchange for spending cuts. On Tuesday, White House spokesman Andrew Bates renewed the administration’s attack on Republicans’ spending plan, calling the GOP’s proposed budget cuts “draconian.”
“The American people fundamentally reject this scorched earth approach to governing,” Mr. Bates said.
The White House issued the invitation to congressional leaders shortly after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Congress that the U.S. might be unable to pay its bills as early as June 1 if lawmakers do not raise the federal debt limit.
“Our best estimate is that we will be unable to continue to satisfy all of the government’s obligations by early June, and potentially as early as June 1,” Ms. Yellen wrote in a letter to congressional leaders.
Lawmakers initially believed they had at least until the end of June to raise the debt limit, but Ms. Yellen said lower-than-expected tax revenue has forced the date forward.
Since January, the Treasury Department has undertaken “extraordinary measures” to stave off default after the government hit its $31.4 trillion borrowing capacity. Those emergency tactics give the government only enough room to cover day-to-day expenses.
“Given the current projections, it is imperative that Congress act as soon as possible to increase or suspend the debt limit in a way that provides longer-term certainty that the government will continue to make its payments,” Ms. Yellen wrote.
The announcement put Mr. Biden and Mr. McCarthy in a high-stakes game of chicken.
House Republicans have long demanded spending cuts in exchange for lifting the debt ceiling, and they approved legislation last week to achieve that goal. Mr. Biden has refused to negotiate, saying both Democrats and Republicans have contributed to the national debt.
The House-passed legislation would raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion until May 2024 in exchange for $4.8 trillion in spending cuts. Apart from raising the debt limit, the Republican bill would cut federal spending by $130 billion for the upcoming fiscal year and limit budget growth to 1% annually over the next decade.
• Haris Alic can be reached at halic@washingtontimes.com.
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