An upbeat Kevin McCarthy left the White House seven weeks ago with a rosy view about the prospects of raising the national debt limit.
“We walked away saying we would continue the discussion,” the House speaker said after an hourlong meeting with President Joe Biden.
The discussion, in fact, has yet to continue.
As the country stares down the prospect of a first-ever default by this summer, there has been no progress toward finding a way out of the debt ceiling standoff – with House members and senators in both parties at a total loss over how Washington will avoid falling off the cliff.
And as each day goes by, lawmakers are growing more uneasy about raising the $31.38 trillion borrowing limit, fearing that they’ll struggle as they scramble at the eleventh hour to find a deal – and enough votes – in a divided Congress.
“Default is not an option,” Senate GOP Whip John Thune said Tuesday.
But how to avoid one – and the catastrophic economic fallout a default could trigger – is anyone’s guess.
The White House says House Republicans should just raise the debt ceiling with no conditions. House Republicans roundly reject that approach and say they won’t pass a clean debt ceiling increase, instead calling for an agreement with the White House on budget cuts. Senate Democrats say House Republicans should put out their plan first — even as they haven’t decided whether to release a Democratic budget of their own.
And Senate Republicans are leaving it all up to McCarthy to find a way forward with the White House.
“We’ll continue to let the majority in the House be able to come up with their proposal, and hopefully they’ll get that done,” said Sen. Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican
Romney added: “I’m always nervous.”
Others are growing angry.
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