Top House negotiator on debt limit says it's time to 'press pause' as talks come to standstill
A top debt ceiling negotiator for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says it’s time to “press pause” on talks as negotiations with the White House have come to an abrupt standstill at the Capitol
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A top debt ceiling negotiator for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Friday it's time to “press pause” on talks as negotiations with the White House came to an abrupt standstill at the Capitol.
Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., tapped by McCarthy, R-Calif., to lead the talks, emerged from an hourlong session and said gaps remained between House Republicans and the Democratic administration.
“It’s time to press pause because it’s just not productive,” Graves told reporters.
Graves said the negotiations are “just unreasonable” and that it was unclear when talks would resume.
President Joe Biden's administration is racing to strike a deal with Republicans led by McCarthy as the nation careens toward a potentially catastrophic debt default if the government fails to increase the borrowing limit to keep paying the nation's bills.
Negotiators met for a third day behind closed doors at the Capitol with hopes of settling on an agreement this weekend before possible House votes next week. They face a looming deadline as soon as June 1 when the Treasury Department has said it will run out of cash to pay the government's incurred debt.
Republicans want to extract steep spending cuts that Biden has so far refused to accept. Any deal would need support of both Republicans and Democrats to find approval in the divided Congress and be passed into law.
___
Associated Press writer Stephen Groves contributed to this report.