Chief negotiators for President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy continued talks Friday night to lift the nation’s borrowing cap, ending a “standstill” put in place hours earlier when the Republicans expressed disappointment with the position of the White House.
After almost a full day of failure, White House Counselor Steve Ricchetti, White House budget director Shalanda Young, Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., and House Financial Services Chairman Patrick T. McHenry, RN.C., resumed talks at the Capitol shortly after 6 p.m.
But McCarthy vented her frustration with the Biden administration in an interview with Fox Business that marked a clear change in tone from a day earlier.
“I think we can write a good deal to move forward, but the White House won’t move,” the California Republican told Fox. “We’re back in the room tonight, but it’s very disappointing. They want to come into the room and think we’re going to spend more money next year than … we did this year. That’s not right and that’s not going to happen.”
House Republicans are pushing for a decade-long cap on discretionary spending, which would be set back to next year’s fiscal 2022 level and then allow for 1 percent annual growth. Democrats criticized the proposal, saying it would destroy critical domestic programs because the GOP would not cut defense, which makes up nearly half of all discretionary spending.
