NEW YORK CITY (NBC) – With just weeks to go before the country defaults on its bills, President Biden met with the four congressional leaders to discuss the debt ceiling.
Both sides are standing firm, with Democrats wanting to lift the debt ceiling without restrictions and Republicans insisting on spending cuts.
But there is hope. Both sides will meet again on Friday to continue negotiations.
With pressure mounting to reach a debt ceiling deal and prevent a catastrophic default on the nation’s loans by as soon as June 1st, President Biden is turning up the political heat on Republicans.
“They’re literally, not figuratively, holding the economy hostage by threatening to default on the nation’s debt,” President Biden said.
The president visited a New York swing district he won while the House seat is held by a Republican who came to hear the president speak.
Representative Mike Lawler (R-NY) said, “I’m willing to listen to what he has to say. We have to sit down and negotiate in good faith.”
President Biden is searching for a counterweight to hard-right demands for massive spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt limit.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) said, “The credit card of the nation was maxed out by Joe Biden spending over the last two years.”
The president wants budget negotiations on a separate track to ensure the nation can pay its bills first. But the top four congressional leaders and President Biden failed to find common ground in a tense White House meeting earlier this week.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said, “Speaker McCarthy refused absolutely refused to take default off the table.”
The parties are set to meet again on Friday.
Top economists say a historic default would send the stock market into a tailspin, tank 401Ks, and lead to a spike in job losses. All of that is on the line with just three weeks to go to reach a deal.
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