Debt ceiling talks continue as Pres. Biden prepares to attend G7 meeting

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The due date to pay the country’s debt is coming up fast as President Biden met with congressional leaders trying to fend off default.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she has used every option to keep paying bills, but June 1 is the drop-dead date. Now it’s up to the country’s leaders to find a compromise.

Political brinksmanship was on display in a second critical meeting at the White House as President Biden and Vice President Harris sat down with the top four congressional leaders looking to break the debt ceiling stalemate.

“There was an overwhelming consensus, I think, in today’s meeting with the congressional leaders, that defaulting on the debt is simply not an option,” Biden said.

The pressure is on with just over two weeks to go before the nation could start running out of money to pay its bills.

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (D-CA) said, “It is possible to get a deal by the end of the week. It’s not that difficult to get to an agreement.”

Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said, “We’ll have to come together on something that can avoid default.”

Economists predict an historic default could make the stock market tank and unemployment spike.

Secretary Yellen said, “The U.S. economy hangs in the balance.”

Adding to the urgency, President Biden is set to leave the country Wednesday for G7 meetings in Japan, though a source familiar tells NBC News the back half of the trip to Papua New Guinea and Australia is canceled to refocus on the default deadline.

“The nature of the presidency is addressing many of the critical matters all at once,” said Biden.

Earlier Tuesday, Speaker McCarthy blasted the president for leaving the country, saying,  “I think the country wants an American president focused on solving American problems.”

House Republicans already passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling along with massive spending cuts, insisting any final deal must include work requirements for social safety net programs like SNAP food security.

Now as the nation is barrels toward an economic calamity, there is hope for compromise in areas like taking back unspent COVID money and setting caps on future spending.

While he’s traveling overseas, the White House says President Biden will be briefed every day on the status of debt ceiling discussions that will continue at the staff level in search of a solution.

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