WASHINGTON − House Republicans are in a “trust, but verify” situation with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as he negotiates the debt ceiling with President Joe Biden to stave off the first U.S. default in the nation’s history.
McCarthy, R-Calif., met Tuesday afternoon with Biden in a second White House meeting with top congressional leaders in a last-ditch attempt to negotiate a deal to raise the debt limit. Without increasing the country’s borrowing power, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen predicted the U.S. could run out of money to pay its bills as early as June 1.
McCarthy, who was joined by House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is viewed as the key negotiator in the Republican caucus to advocate for the party in negotiations.
Most Republicans in the House are at a “trust, but verify situation” as McCarthy leads the talks, according to Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D. They think McCarthy has done a great job, but they’re going to make sure they read the bill, he said.
“Nobody has given their voting card to Kevin McCarthy. I think his stock is trading at a higher level within the Republican conference than it ever has. But one of the reasons that he’s such an effective leader is that he knows nobody’s just going to take his word for it,” Johnson said to USA TODAY.
Another Republican, Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, told USA TODAY he is putting his faith in McCarthy: “He’s our designated negotiator who’s the speaker so I will be supportive of whatever he decides is a good deal.”
Top McCarthy allies told reporters Tuesday morning there’s still a lot of work to do. For example, Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., told CNN “there’s still a lot of distance” between House Republicans and Biden on the debt limit.
McCarthy has only four votes to lose in the House, which could give a handful of members the power to halt a default.
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Round two: Biden meets with top congressional leaders
The big takeaway from the meeting is that negotiations have improved and been streamlined, with the White House naming a point person to negotiate with a staffer from McCarthy’s team, he said.
The two sides remain far apart, but McCarthy said that doesn’t mean a deal is impossible by the end of the week.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do in a short amount of time,” he said during a news conference Tuesday after the White House meeting.
“The structure of how we negotiate has improved so it now gives you a better opportunity even though we only have a few days to get it done,” McCarthy added.
Schumer called it a “good and productive meeting” and Jeffries, reiterated Schumer’s comments, calling it “a positive meeting” with a cordial discussion.
“We all agreed that the only path forward is to reach a bipartisan agreement anchored in common ground,” Jeffries said.
Tuesday’s one-hour session followed a White House meeting that took place last week, which failed to result in a compromise. Biden planned to hold a second meeting with congressional leaders again Friday, but the meeting was postponed after congressional staffers and White House staffers continued negotiations.
The Senate is set to be in recess starting Monday and will not return until after the Memorial Day weekend.
In a letter Monday, Yellen reiterated her estimate that the U.S. could be unable to pay its bills as early as June 1.
Debt ceiling talks focus on expanded work requirements
Biden left the door open Monday for stricter work requirements for federal aid like food stamps if it meant reaching a compromise with Republicans to raise the debt ceiling.
When asked if he would consider tougher work requirements, Biden said that as a senator he voted for tougher aid programs.
“For Medicaid, it’s a different story,” Biden said, ruling out changes to the health care program for low-income Americans. “And so I’m waiting to hear what their exact proposal is.”
McCarthy discouraged ahead of second White House meeting
Ahead of Tuesday’s second meeting, McCarthy was not optimistic he could come to an agreement with Biden and top Democrats.
“I still think we’re far apart,” he told reporters Monday, reiterating that a deal needs to be in place by this weekend to pass something before the end of the month.
The Senate is set to be in recess starting Monday and will not return until after the Labor Day weekend. The House is in session next week, but lawmakers will not be on Capitol Hill the week of Memorial Day.
Both chambers would need to pass a debt ceiling bill before it could head to Biden’s desk.
More:Biden open to tougher work requirements for food stamps in debt-ceiling talks with Republicans
What happens if the country defaults?
A default would put social security, Medicare and federal salaries at risk if the Treasury Department is unable to make payments. In the case of a default, the Treasury could prioritize or delay certain payments but experts say it could be difficult for the department to prioritize which payments to make.
Additionally, a default would cause interest rates to surge.
Contributing: Joey Garrison and Ken Tran.
