Republicans pull out of debt ceiling talks

WASHINGTON – The top Republicans who negotiated a debt-ceiling deal with the White House withdrew from talks Friday, saying Republicans needed to “hit a pause.”

“Until people are willing to have reasonable conversations about how they can move forward and do the right thing, then we’re not going to sit here and talk to ourselves,” said Rep. Garrett Graves (R-La.) told reporters after leaving a meeting at the Capitol.

The White House confirmed that the two sides stayed away from a deal.

“There are real differences between the parties on budget issues and the talks will be difficult,” a White House official said in an email, adding that the president’s team “is working hard to achieve a reasonable bipartisan solution that can be passed.” by the House and the Senate. .”

Republicans have demanded major spending cuts in exchange for lifting the federal government’s “debt ceiling,” a legal limit on how much the government can borrow to pay bills Congress has racked up over the years. Republicans also want stricter “work requirements” on certain federal safety net programs.

It’s a high-stakes deal: If lawmakers can’t reach an agreement, the federal government could default on its debts as early as June 1. A default would be unprecedented and have major economic repercussions because the entire financial system compares borrowing costs with the supposedly reliable interest rate on government debt.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and President Joe Biden were optimistic this week that they were making progress on a deal, prompting progressive Democrats to sound alarm bells about possible benefit cuts.

More to the right republicans at the House Freedom Caucus, meanwhile, called on McCarthy to cease negotiations, which has now apparently happened. and former president donald trump urged the republicans on Friday not to make a deal “unless they get everything they want.”

Biden has signaled opening up to new job requirements, best understood as caps on unemployment benefits, but it’s unclear where he might be willing to add them. Republicans have proposed stricter eligibility rules for unemployed Americans on Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the relatively small Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.