McCarthy halts debt limit talks until Biden returns from G7
by Reese Gorman, Congressional Reporter |
May 20, 2023 05:55 PM
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) put negotiations with the White House to avert a debt default on pause Saturday, saying talks will only continue once President Joe Biden returns from the G7 on Sunday.
McCarthy told reporters while leaving the Capitol with Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA), the chief GOP negotiator, and Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, that the trio lacks confidence with the current direction of negotiations with the president's team.
“The White House moved backwards,” McCarthy told reporters. “I think the Bernie Sanders and the socialist wing of their party has had real effect on the president, especially with him being out of the country. I don't think we're going to be able to move forward till the president can get back in the country.”
McHenry said there are "no plans" to meet with the White House negotiators on Sunday.
Biden left on Wednesday to attend the G7 Summit in Japan and is scheduled to return to the country on Sunday.
Since he left, a group of Democratic Senators, led by Sen. Sanders (I-VT) and 66 members of the House’s Congressional Progressive Caucus, have urged the president to utilize the 14th Amendment of the Constitution to go around Congress to raise the debt ceiling.
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