Update:
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said while on Fox Business Friday evening that negotiations are back on, as he also criticized the president's absence and Democratic tactics.
Debt ceiling talks are BACK ON. Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Fox Business that the negotiating team “will be back in the room tonight” after taking a pause earlier this afternoon, per @haleytalbotcnn.
— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) May 19, 2023
McCarthy added that he is “very frustrated” w/ WH position.
2) McCarthy: We took a pause because of the frustration that this White House will not acknowledge that they're spending too much.. I think we could probably find a pretty good agreement to be able to move forward. But theWhite House will not budge
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 19, 2023
3) McCarthy: They're doing the 14th Amendment and not solve any problems. And why would this president go there instead of doing what everybody else has other done in government?..He's not even in the country today. This is part of the problem.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 19, 2023
Original:
With less than two weeks before the June 1 default deadline, while President Joe Biden is overseas attending the G7 summit, Republican negotiators have "pressed pause" on the debt ceiling talks.
Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA), a negotiator appointed by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), was walking with Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) on Friday morning after less than fruitful discussions with White House negotiators, at which point he explained the frustrations.
McCarthy later repeated the need for a pause while giving remarks at the Capitol. "We’ve got to get movement by the White House, and we don’t have any movement yet. So, yeah, we’ve gotta pause," he said.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said debt ceiling talks are on pause. It is unclear when negotiations will resume. https://t.co/5PCu15Wqd4 pic.twitter.com/54xmkjrVWZ
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 19, 2023
As The Hill reported earlier:
Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) emerged from a meeting with White House officials in the Capitol voicing frustration that the sides had not made more progress and accusing the Democrats of being the cause.
“We decided to press pause because it’s just not productive,” Graves told reporters while walking alongside Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), another negotiator. Graves said the White House negotiators are being “unreasonable right now.”
“Until people are willing to have reasonable conversations about how you can actually move forward and do the right thing, then we’re not gonna sit here and talk to ourselves,” he later added. “That’s what’s going on.”
Numerous reporters on Capitol Hill have also tweeted out coverage about the snag in negotiations, including when it comes to the troubling tone from the Biden administration is taking on such an urgent matter.
We saw White House negotiators leave the meeting room moments earlier. Asked about the possibility of more meetings today and through the weekend, they said they are “playing [it] by ear.”
— Gabe Ferris (@GabeFerris) May 19, 2023
This is a setback for the talks and dashes hopes they could get a deal in principle by this weekend, which was already an ambitious timeline.
— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) May 19, 2023
Negotiators all just walked out of the room where debt ceiling talks have been going on. Body language not good. Rep. Graves suggesting he thinks WH team being unreasonable.
— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) May 19, 2023
“We’re not going to sit here and talk to ourselves,” he told reporters.
Fox News' Chad Pergram also explained the situation in depth in a Twitter thread.
2) Fox is told there is a lack of movement between the sides over what Republicans want to cut on the “discretionary” side of the ledger. This is the part of spending which Congress controls through the appropriations process each year.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 19, 2023
4) Meantime, Republicans are sticking to their position of wanting to increase defense spending.. which is the largest portion of overall discretionary spending – accounting for more than half.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 19, 2023
So, that has led to the impasse.
5) Steep cuts to entitlement programs – which make up the bulk of all spending (close to 70 percent) are off the table. So the only place to go are toward entitlements.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 19, 2023
“There is too much daylight between the sides,” said one GOP source.
McCarthy, who made news yesterday for the more positive tone he had been able to adopt, has also further weighed in about this update.
.@SpeakerMcCarthy weighs in. Sounds like this all about $$ caps
— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) May 19, 2023
“I really felt we were at the location where I could see the path. the White House is just… look, we can't be spending more money next year. we have to spend less than we spent the year before it's pretty easy.”
2) McCarthy: We can't be spending more money next year. We have to spend less than we spent the year before. It's pretty easy,
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 19, 2023
3) McCarthy has not spoken to the President
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 19, 2023
As has been the case with the tone deaf Biden administration and Biden himself on the matter, they don't seem to be taking it very serious, at least not when the country is barreling towards default.
WH spox on debt ceiling: "A responsible, bipartisan budget agreements remains possible if both sides negotiate in good faith and recognize that neither side will get everything it wants.”
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 19, 2023
The Hill also cited a White House official in their reporting. "There are real differences between the parties on budget issues and talks will be difficult. The President’s team is working hard towards a reasonable bipartisan solution that can pass the House and the Senate," the official said Friday.
For the White House to speak of "good faith" is almost laughable. The president had rebuffed McCarthy's efforts for over three months. Although McCarthy and the White House have mostly been at the forefront of such negotiations, other congressional leaders have been involved as well. He made such a point in responding to the pause in negotiations.
White House official after news of a “pause” in the debt limit talks: “There are real differences between the parties on budget issues & talks will be difficult. The President’s team is working hard towards a reasonable bipartisan solution that can pass the House & the Senate.” https://t.co/o9wu6DRi1h
— Monica Alba (@albamonica) May 19, 2023
When it comes to reassurances from the White House about "a reasonable bipartisan solution," McCarthy had said at a press conference earlier this month following a meeting with the president and other congressional leaders that he had wanted to go for a bipartisan plan. While that plan, the Limit, Save, Grow Act, passed on partisan lines, it does include provisions previously mentioned by Democrats, including none other than Biden himself, from when he was a senator.
Biden and fellow Democrats, have spoken up against such a plan, to do with work requirements for Medicaid and SNAP, even though it enjoys bipartisan support.
The White House has been tweeting at length on Friday, including since Graves mentioned such a "pause," but the most recent tweet about the debt ceiling negotiations from the account came late on Thursday night.
President Biden requested and received an update this morning from his designated negotiating team on progress being made in their talks on Capitol Hill to arrive at a bipartisan budget framework and ensure that Congress acts in time to avoid default. The President’s team… pic.twitter.com/AQ22ZhZAgG
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 19, 2023
Biden tweeted about default from his official account on Friday morning, though nothing of substance to show he was willing to make progress. Republicans also called out the president for such takes through retweets.
You are the one who keeps talking about default. Literally every day. Hint: #HR2811 has been passed. Maybe come back from Japan and get the @SenateDems to open the Senate next week and pass it. Problem solved. #ShrinkDCGrowAmerica https://t.co/hlQUWlwPVC
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) May 19, 2023
If you’re that worried about it, Mr. President, pass the House bill. You waited 105 days before even meeting with @SpeakerMcCarthy, who was ready and willing to negotiate the entire time. You don’t get to play the “emergency” card now. https://t.co/vk8R1pbBKS
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) May 19, 2023
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) has been a key supporter of McCarthy's plan to cut spending, and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) has also been instrumental in uniting Senate Republicans who sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) indicating "will not be voting for cloture on any bill that raises the debt ceiling without substantive spending and budget reforms."
Former and potentially future President Donald Trump weighed in on Friday morning with a Truth Social post insisting that Republicans "DO NOT FOLD," in all caps.
The House Freedom Caucus had released a statement on Thursday afternoon in which they tweeted out how "There should be no further discussion until the Senate passes the legislation," referring to the Limit, Save, Grow Act. The statement had also noted that the "House Freedom Caucus calls on Speaker McCarthy and Senate Republicans to use every leverage and tool at their disposal to ensure the Limit, Save, Grow Act is signed into law."
House Republicans did our job on debt ceiling.
— House Freedom Caucus (@freedomcaucus) May 18, 2023
It's time for President Biden and Senate Democrats to do theirs and pass the Limit, Save, Grow Act.
No more discussion on watering it down. Period. pic.twitter.com/pphcbdKy0k
Also on Thursday, Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus spoke to CBS News. "We're not saying you shouldn't continue to negotiate, but we can't be the buyer and the seller in the same agreement," he said.
The House Freedom Caucus is demanding an end to debt ceiling talks until the Senate passes the House GOP proposal. Chair Scott Perry (R-PA) tells @NikolenDC, "We're not saying you shouldn't continue to negotiate, but we can't be the buyer and the seller in the same agreement." pic.twitter.com/kaB7bJgs9x
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 18, 2023
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