Failing an agreement, the US would run out of money around June 1. This can have major economic consequences. Biden’s Democrats need Republican support in Congress to raise the debt ceiling. They are positive about this, but to Biden’s chagrin they demand that government spending be cut in return.
The president complained last weekend that the Republicans are coming up with “unacceptable” demands. Relations seemed to have improved after Monday’s talks. Speaker McCarthy of the House of Representatives spoke of a “productive” discussion and also said the tone of the talks was better than before. Biden also called the talks “productive”.
McCarthy said he expects to meet with the president on a daily basis until a deal can be reached. Such a deal must then also be worked out so that Congress can vote on it. President McCarthy has previously promised that parliamentarians will also have 72 hours to assess the content of the proposal.
Republicans are hinting, according to the New York Times, that a deal may not come until the situation is really dire. McCarthy was asked Monday evening how the current stalemate in the negotiations can be broken. According to the newspaper, he simply responded with the words: “June 1”.