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President Joe Biden and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, kevin mccarthymet Wednesday afternoon at the White House amid a political standoff between the executive and legislatures over raising the debt ceilingin their first solo meeting since Republicans took control of the House and McCarthy claimed the president’s gavel.
Their conversation came as tensions are rising between the parties over the country’s debt ceiling, though the White House said they covered a “range of topics.” McCarthy characterized his meeting as “good” and said they focused on the debt ceiling and spending.
“You know what, the president and I had a good first meeting,” McCarthy told reporters outside the White House. “I shared my perspective with him, he shared his. And we agreed to continue the conversation. We want to make sure we do it in a responsible and reasonable way, and we’ll talk again.”
“No agreements, no promises, except that we will continue this conversation,” McCarthy added.
McCarthy stressed that he believes they can reach a deal, though he remains entrenched in rejecting a key White House demand, telling reporters that he informed Biden that the House would not pass a “clean” debt ceiling with no strings attached.
The White House also said in a statement that Biden and McCarthy “agreed to continue the conversation.”
“President Biden made clear that, as every other leader of both parties in Congress has affirmed, it is their shared duty not to allow an unprecedented and economically catastrophic default,” the White House said. “The Constitution of the United States is explicit about this obligation, and the American people expect Congress to fulfill it in the same way that all its predecessors have. It is not negotiable or conditional.”
The United States capped the amount of debt it can issue to meet its obligations last month, setting a June deadline for Congress to raise or suspend the debt limit after it the Treasury Department began taking “extraordinary measures” to prevent the nation from having a catastrophic default.
While House Republicans and President Biden have said the United States should not default on its financial obligations, they disagree on how to deal with the need to raise the nation’s debt limit.
With information from CNN and CBS News
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– Yellen warns of a “global financial crisis” if there is no deal to raise the US debt ceiling.