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House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, said
on Tuesday a concession he will make is raising the borrowing limit.
His statement indicates that Republicans are not willing to give
much more than raising the debt ceiling in exchange for their
demands.
"Don't take our word for it. Just listen to members of The House
Freedom Caucus... (they) are now openly referring to the full faith
and credit of the United States as a hostage," said White House
press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Jean-Pierre said the result of default would be "millions of jobs
lost, devastated retirement accounts, and a recession."
The White House's strategy is to keep negotiating to reach a deal,
while appearing reasonable and keeping out of the limelight, a
source familiar with the White House's negotiations said.
"We are speaking to moderates and most importantly are focused on
getting a deal," the source said. "The idea is to appeal to
moderates while isolating MAGA Republicans."
Negotiators for President Joe Biden and McCarthy reconvened at the
White House earlier to try to strike a deal to raise the United
States' $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and avoid a catastrophic
default.
Time is running short, as the Treasury Department has warned the
federal government could be unable to pay all its bills by as soon
as June 1 - just eight days away - and it will take several days to
pass legislation through the narrowly divided Congress.
Jean-Pierre said the White House still believes there is an
opportunity to get to a bipartisan budget agreement.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing
by Bill Berkrot and Lisa Shumaker)
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