House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) blasted President Joe Biden after congressional leadership discussed a potential debt ceiling increase on Tuesday, a meeting which came after more than three months of refusal from the White House to negotiate.
The debt ceiling, a policy established by Congress that prevents the federal government from spending beyond a predetermined national debt limit of $31.4 trillion, surpassed the threshold earlier this year. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned last week that the nation could face a default as soon as the first day of June unless the debt limit is suspended or increased.
White House officials have repeatedly asserted that Republican lawmakers are risking a recession by insisting that any amendment to the debt ceiling should be accompanied by meaningful spending cuts or limits upon future expenditures. Biden and McCarthy continued the negotiations launched in February with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
