President Joe Biden has expressed his willingness to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to discuss raising the US debt ceiling, but only on the condition that the possibility of default is ruled out. The issue has been a point of contention between the two leaders, with McCarthy pushing for a bill that raises the ceiling while also cutting government spending, a proposal that Democrats have rejected.
McCarthy recently updated his proposal, adding tax breaks for biofuels and investments, after initially saying he would not make any changes to the measure. He is now confident that the bill will pass.
Biden has previously stated that he would not meet with McCarthy until he released a budget, but the White House has since indicated that the president is holding out for Republicans to agree to an unconditional debt-ceiling increase.
During a press conference with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at the White House, Biden pointed out that both former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump supported raising the debt ceiling. He said, "I noticed they quote Reagan all the time and they quote Trump. Both of which said, I’m paraphrasing, it would be an absolute crime to not extend the debt limit."
The Treasury is expected to release a new estimate soon on when they believe the department will be on the verge of breaching the debt ceiling and defaulting on federal payments. Analysts anticipate the date to be around late July, but warn that slow tax-return revenues could advance the deadline to early June.