Negotiations took on a more urgent tone Tuesday as aides for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and President Joe Biden resumed talks to raise the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling to avoid a devastating default.
GOP lead negotiator Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., lamented there'd been little progress so far.
"I don't think things are going well," Graves told reporters Tuesday. "They are refusing to truly change the trajectory, to truly reduce spending, and that is a red line."
McCarthy himself echoed the grim mood.
"There are 9 days left for Democrats to meet the deadline, but since President Biden ignored this debt crisis for more than 100 days — make no mistake — any default would be the Biden Default," McCarthy tweeted Tuesday morning.
Graves told CNN that going into Tuesday talks, the sides are "still far apart."
"Until this administration is willing to recognize that they are having record spending, record deficits and record taxes, then we're not going to be able to come together," he said.
"Our commitment stands. We'll work all night, we'll do 24 hours but we're not going to continue on this trajectory. It's irresponsible and it jeopardizes the future the next generation."
McCarthy tweeted video of his argument Monday over one issue on which the sides disagree.
"I don't think it's right that Washington borrows money from China to pay somebody who is able-bodied with no dependents to sit at home on a couch," he told reporters Monday night.
"It is proven that work requirements help lift people out of poverty and into productivity."
Yet, at that point, he also signaled there was a way forward, lamenting that talks about "negotiation to responsibly raise the debt limit…should have happened months ago."
"There is a path for him to avoid defaulting on the debt," he insisted of Biden.
As talks become more fraught, McCarthy is also urging Republicans to stay united behind him.
"I need you all to hang with me," he reportedly told them, CNN reported.
The Treasury Department has warned that the federal government could no longer have enough money to pay all its bills as soon as June 1, which would cause a default that would hammer the U.S. economy and push borrowing costs higher.
In a brief post-meeting statement Monday, Biden called the session productive but merely added that he, McCarthy and their lead negotiators "will continue to discuss the path forward."
According to Biden, both sides have already agreed "default is not really on the table."
Negotiations are focused on finding compromise over a 2024 budget year cap that would be key to resolving the standoff. Republicans insist next year's spending be less than it is now; the White House instead offered to hold spending flat at current 2023 numbers.
Republicans initially sought to roll back next year's spending to 2022 levels, and impose 1% caps on spending growth for 10 years, though a later proposal narrowed that to about six years.
The White House wants a two-year budget deal, keeping 2024 spending flat. They proposed a 1% cap on spending growth for 2025, according to a person familiar with the talks and granted anonymity to discuss them.
A compromise on those topline spending levels would enable McCarthy to deliver for conservatives, while not being so severe that it would chase off Democrat votes that would be needed in the divided Congress to pass any bill.
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.