White House and Republicans reach tentative debt limit deal to avoid default

Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have reached a tentative deal to raise the US debt ceiling for two years while cutting federal spending.

Top White House negotiators and Republicans reached an agreement Saturday to raise the debt limit, a breakthrough after weeks of tense talks that came just days before the deadline, Biden and McCarthy confirmed on Monday. Saturday night.

Following a phone call between the two leaders, the speaker said they reached an agreement but did not share the exact provisions.

“After weeks of negotiations, we have reached an agreement in principle,” McCarthy told reporters on Saturday night. “We still have a lot of work to do, but I think this is an agreement in principle that is worthy of the American people.”

Biden shared the news on Twitter shortly after McCarthy, where the president called the deal a “significant step forward” but conceded it was a “compromise.”

If the Democrats and Republicans fail to reach a deal and fail to raise the $31.5 trillion debt limit, the US faces a default for the first time in history. The Treasury warned lawmakers that it could run out of money to pay bills by early June, a dire situation that economic experts have warned would have catastrophic consequences for the national and global economies.

news week he reached out to representatives for Biden and McCarthy by email for comment.

“This is an important step forward that reduces spending while protecting critical programs for workers and growing the economy for all,” Biden said on Twitter. “And the agreement protects my key priorities and the legislative gains of the Democrats in Congress. The agreement represents a compromise, which means that not everyone gets what they want. That is the responsibility of government.”

Biden said the deal is good news for Americans because it prevents a “catastrophic default.”

“I strongly urge both houses to pass the deal immediately,” he said in the tweet.

McCarthy also shared the news of the agreement on his Twitter account, where he criticized the president for waiting months to negotiate, but said they finally reached an agreement “in principle” that is “worthy.”

“I just got off the phone with the president a while ago. After he wasted his time and refused to negotiate for months, we have reached an agreement in principle that is worthy of the American people,” the California Republican said. he said on Twitter.

He told reporters that he would not release details of the deal until lawmakers had a chance to be briefed. McCarthy said the bill will be available to the public on Sunday and the House will vote on it on Wednesday.

McCarthy said the plan has “historic spending cuts, consistent reforms that will lift people out of poverty into the workforce, rein in government overreach, no new taxes. No new government programs.”

In other cheepMcCarty praised the deal as a “responsible debt limit deal.”

“Republicans are poised to bring about significant and consequential change in Washington,” he said. “Soon, we’ll be voting for a responsible debt limit deal that stops reckless Democrat spending, recovers unspent COVID funds, blocks Biden’s new tax schemes, and much, much more.”

news week previously reported that under the proposed deal, the debt limit would be increased for two years while strict caps on discretionary spending were implemented. The proposal is likely to include some climate attributes, such as renewable energy projects, a goal of the Biden administration. The deal can also be seen as a victory for McCarthy and the Republicans because they have been demanding spending cuts and strict caps on discretionary spending that is not related to the military or veterans.

The deadline is still looming, however, as Congress must now approve the proposal by June 5, the date the Treasury says the government will run out of money. Support for the plan is not assured in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives or the Democratic-led Senate, where lawmakers from both parties are likely to have problems with aspects of the deal. Republicans wanted even more cuts, while Democrats wanted the debt limit raised with no strings attached.

Biden, McCarthy and other congressional leaders have argued that default is off the table. They have been working to end the stalemate for weeks, speaking just twice on Saturday to reach the final points. McCarthy said she will speak to the president again on Sunday.