Biden says he won't agree to bipartisan debt deal solely on Republicans' terms

[May 22, 2023]  By Trevor Hunnicutt and Jeff Mason
 
HIROSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday said he was willing to cut spending but would not agree to a deal with Republicans in Congress on raising the U.S. federal debt limit and cutting the budget solely on their terms. 

U.S Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks to reporters as he stands with Congressional Republicans from both the U.S. House and Senate during an event addressing debt ceiling negotiations with President Joe Biden outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., May 17, 2023. REUTERS/Nathan Howard

Speaking at a news conference in Hiroshima in Japan, Biden said he would speak with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on his way home about the negotiations, but underscored that a U.S. default would have "serious" consequences and was not an option.

"It's time for Republicans to accept that there is no bipartisan deal to be made solely on their partisan terms. They have to move as well," Biden said.

The Democratic president said he believed he had the authority to invoke the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to raise the debt ceiling without Congress, but it was uncertain such action could be taken in time to prevent a default.

Biden, traveling in Japan for the Group of Seven (G7) summit, sought the call with McCarthy after his negotiating team briefed him on the status of talks that broke up on Friday with no signs of progress, according to a White House official.

There are less than two weeks before June 1, when the Treasury Department has warned that the federal government could be unable to pay all its debts. That would trigger a default that could cause chaos in financial markets and spike interest rates.

Biden said he still believed he could reach a deal with Republicans, but could not guarantee that Republicans would not force a default by "doing something outrageous."

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jeff Mason, writing by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Hugh Lawson, William Maclean)

[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.