Debt options abound, but can Biden, McCarthy strike a deal?
WASHINGTON — The White House and Congress could strike a deal to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for budget cuts. Or they could agree to a stopgap measure to keep paying the nation’s bills while negotiations continue. They also could let the negotiations unravel, sending the economy into chaos.
As President Joe Biden meets Tuesday with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other congressional leaders for the first time over the debt ceiling crisis, the options for easing out of the standoff are many.
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But the political incentive for compromise is harder to come by. There’s no easy endgame ahead of a June 1 deadline to raise the debt ceiling or risk defaulting on the nation’s $31 trillion in debt.
“It’s Congress’ constitutional duty to act to prevent default,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday. “That’s what the president is going to be very clear about.”
At Tuesday’s first meeting, it’s extremely unlikely there will be any quick resolution. Biden and the big four congressional leaders of the House and Senate will convene at the White House with neither side yet signaling a willingness to budge off its opening position.
Biden wants Congress to simply raise the debt limit without any strings attached, while Republicans led by McCarthy are insisting on budget cuts in exchange for any votes to allow more borrowing to pay the nation’s bills.
More likely, Democratic president Biden and Republican House speaker McCarthy will at least be able to set aside their differences enough to launch a process for negotiations that could begin to form the contours of a deal to avert a true debt ceiling crisis.
But with tensions high and the outcome uncertain, some lawmakers are considering unprecedented proposals, even one that would allow Biden to bypass Congress, invoking his responsibilities under the 14th Amendment to simply raise the nation’s debt limit on his own. That would be certain to face a court challenge.
