Meeting fails to bring breakthrough in dispute over US debt ceiling

From left: Kevin McCarthy, Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer

If the debt ceiling is reached, the US could no longer meet its payment obligations.

(Photo: AP)

Washington In the struggle to raise the debt ceiling in the United States, there appears to have been no breakthrough at a meeting between Congressional leaders and President Joe Biden. Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he had “not seen any new movement.”

At the meeting, in addition to McCarthy, Biden also welcomed Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jefrries, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to the Oval Office. The starting point was that Biden called for a significant increase in the debt ceiling, which currently stands at $31.4 trillion. McCarthy and other Republicans are demanding spending cuts in return.

McCarthy told reporters outside the White House that he asked the president a simple question: “Do you think there is a way to find savings?” Biden, on the other hand, underscored his determination not to allow the country’s creditworthiness to be “held hostage” to exert pressure in negotiations. Democrats mirrored this after the meeting, while signaling a willingness to negotiate, saying they saw room for spending cuts but would not allow Republicans to hold the debt ceiling “hostage.”

If the debt ceiling is reached, the US could no longer meet its payment obligations, which could have catastrophic economic consequences. Finance Minister Janet Yellen had already warned of an impending insolvency on June 1 – it would be a historic novelty.

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