Global Courant 2023-05-20 03:28:48
WASHINGTON — Republican negotiators who were due to strike a deal with the White House at the end of the month to avoid a potentially catastrophic debt crisis said on Friday they paused talks with the Biden administration because they were “unproductive.”
“We decided to hit pause because it’s just not productive,” said Rep. Garret Graves, R-La, who was tapped by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to lead negotiations with White House staff.
He declined to comment on the details of the negotiations, but said the government was “unreasonable” as the clock ticks towards the June 1 deadline set by the Treasury Department to act or risk a catastrophic default on the US debt.
“Until people are willing to have reasonable conversations about how you can actually move forward and do the right thing, we’re not going to sit here and talk to ourselves,” Graves said, insisting the House had done its part by passing a bill to raise the debt ceiling.
Part of the hang-up is that House Republicans want to force major budget cuts that President Joe Biden opposes and kills upon arrival in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
“Look, we can’t spend more money next year,” McCarthy, R-Calif., said Friday in a pessimistic tone about the status of the negotiations. “We have to spend less than last year. It’s pretty simple.”
He said there was not enough “movement” from the White House, adding that he had spoken with Graves on Friday, but not with the president.
A White House spokesman said Friday that “a responsible, bipartisan budget deal remains possible if both parties negotiate in good faith and recognize that neither side is getting everything they want.”
“There are real differences of opinion between the parties on budget issues and talks will be difficult,” the spokesman added. “The president’s team is working hard on a reasonable bipartisan solution that can pass the House and Senate.”
Democrats are reluctant to accept a spending limit lower than current levels, said a source familiar with the party’s position. The party may prefer to maintain existing levels, even if it means failing a new spending deal and putting the government on autopilot through ongoing resolution.
According to a Democratic source familiar with the negotiations, there is a push to pass a resolution on short-term spending while raising the debt limit to early 2025. That would give McCarthy what he always wanted: moving those two issues at the same time – while the White House and Democrats, who initially demanded a “clean” debt hike, can save face by claiming that the negotiations are about the budget.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., said earlier this week, “Avoiding default should not depend on passing the GOP’s hard-right partisan agenda.”
Congress must act in the coming weeks or the US could break the debt ceiling as early as June 1, the Treasury Department warned.
Asked if talks would resume later Friday or Saturday, Graves said: “I don’t know.”
A source familiar with the negotiations said hardline conservatives were happy with the break.
“The fact that they’re doing this shows they’re still willing to walk away,” the source said, adding that there were concerns that McCarthy’s team hadn’t focused on their core problem.
“It’s about the cuts,” says the source.
Meanwhile, a GOP aide said conservatives are “privately furious” with how the talks are going and that “Republicans are giving away their clout.”
On Thursday, the conservative Freedom Caucus issued a statement saying that the debt bill passed by the House formal position of the bloc of about 30 far-right House Republicans.
Former President Donald Trump, who has urged Republicans to allow bankruptcy if their demands are not met, reiterated that call on his social media website Friday.
“REPUBLICANS SHOULD NOT MAKE A DEAL ON THE DEBT CEILING UNLESS THEY GET EVERYTHING THEY WANT (including the ‘kitchen sink’),” Trump, the leading Republican presidential nominee, wrote on Truth Social. DO NOT FOLD!!!”
Alexandra Bacalao, Monica Alba, Ali Vitali, Jillian Frankel, Kristen Welker, and Dareh Gregorian contributed.
