CNN
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A senior US economic official said on Sunday that talks between congressional staff and the White House have been “constructive” as the US barrels towards a debt limit deadline that could come as soon as 1 of June
“The conversations are constructive between all parties,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”
President Joe Biden, he said, “looks forward to meeting with leaders to discuss how we continue to move forward.” Talks between congressional leadership and Biden were canceled Friday as staff-level talks continued, with additional meetings planned this week.
Biden, however, leaves for Hiroshima, Japan, on Wednesday for the G7 summit.
There is still no clear path to avoid a defect with just four days left before June 1, when both the House and Senate are scheduled to be in session. But there have been changes in posture that indicate some progress.
Adeyemo reiterated on Sunday that the US “cannot” pay its debt, but declined to provide details on areas of agreement. He echoed Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s assessment that the default could happen “as soon as June 1,” but said “it could be early June,” and called on Congress to act as he warned that default would be “catastrophic”.
Pressed by Bash on the timing of a deal after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called for a deal in principle earlier this week and business leaders such as JP Morgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon warning of market panic in Absent a deal, Adeyemo said Biden “believes he should raise the debt limit as soon as possible.”
“Because it’s not just about the financial markets, but the (University of Michigan) consumer sentiment survey last week showed that consumers are now concerned about the debt limit, which is affecting the way they spend,” Adeyemo said.
Meanwhile, Biden’s top economic adviser, Lael Brainard, on Sunday described the debt ceiling talks at the staff level as “serious” and “constructive.”
But he echoed earlier comments from the White House about preferring a full increase over a short-term fix.
“Short-term is not a solution. It’s not really about addressing that basic uncertainty that CEOs are talking about. It’s very important to take the default and address that, and Congress has the tools to do that,” he said. said the director of the National Economic Council on “Face the Nation” on CBS.
Biden indicated last week that he was ready for the talks to go down to the wire.
“I’ve been involved in negotiations my whole career,” he told CNN during a trip to New York. “Some negotiations happen at the last second, some negotiations happen much earlier. So, we’ll see.”
Biden last week revived the controversial idea of raising the debt limit without Congress by invoking the 14th Amendment, which some legal experts say gives the president the authority to order the nation’s debts to be paid regardless of the debt limit. debt established by Congress.
But using the 14th Amendment to allow the Treasury Department to borrow above the debt ceiling to pay the nation’s obligations would almost certainly lead to a constitutional crisis and swift legal action.
Asked Sunday if the administration would consider invoking the 14th amendment in the absence of a deal with Congress, Adeyemo said: “What the president said is that he doesn’t think the 14th amendment will solve our problems now. L “The only thing that can solve our problems now is for Congress to raise the debt limit.”
