House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., will meet with President Biden on Monday to continue negotiations on raising the debt ceiling, McCarthy announced Sunday.
Biden and McCarthy spoke on the phone Sunday and had a “productive” conversation, McCarthy said, despite throwing barbs at one another in public statements. Biden has stated that the current Republican offer is “unacceptable” and complained that McCarthy has been dragged to the right by “MAGA Republicans.” McCarthy, meanwhile, has claimed the opposite.
“I just finished a phone call with the president,” McCarthy told reporters. “I believe it was a productive phone call.”
Biden is currently on his way back to Washington after attending meetings with G-7 nations in Hiroshima, Japan. McCarthy says he told the president to get some sleep and get briefed up on the current state of negotiations after being absent during the international trip.
Biden has 11 days to come to an agreement with House Republicans before the U.S. defaults on its debt for the first time in history. Biden appeared to wash his hands of the issue in a statement to reporters in Japan, however, saying, “I’ve done my part,” and declaring himself “blameless” if there is a default.
The White House claims some “MAGA Republicans” are working to intentionally derail negotiations and cause a default, which would lead to economic disaster and potentially harm Biden’s re-election effort.