Democrats and Republicans seemed close to an agreement Saturday to avoid a default by the United States before the new deadline of June 5, but negotiations still stumble on final points. On Friday evening, US President Joe Biden was "optimistic" about the prospects of an agreement with the Republican opposition, stressing that negotiators on both sides were "very close" to concluding.
Talks continued Saturday and progressed but negotiators stumble over final details of the agreement that everyone considers red lines. Asked Saturday morning if there would be a deal before the deadline, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy replied: "Yes." "I think we can really do it," he told reporters while warning that there were still stumbling blocks.
The United States, which entered the extended weekend of "Memorial Day" on Monday, remains hanging on an agreement to raise the debt ceiling, essential to avoid default that would have catastrophic consequences for the global economy. The date by which the US Treasury will be unable to meet its financial commitments is now set for June 5, against June 1 previously, offering the country a few days of respite.
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Red lines
Among the points of disagreement between the two camps is the Republicans' demand to condition certain social benefits. "I don't think it's good to borrow money from China to pay healthy people who don't have dependents to hang out on their couch," McCarthy, who poses as an intransigent defender of fiscal discipline, said in a video shared Saturday.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates accused Republicans of wanting to take the economy hostage and jeopardize "more than eight million jobs" while wanting to "take the bread out of the mouths of hungry Americans." Joe Biden, campaigning for re-election, is positioning himself as a champion of social and fiscal justice and has repeatedly said he is opposed to massive budget cuts that would impact the most precarious workers and households.
One of the Republican negotiators Patrick McHenry spoke of a "short list of disagreements" remaining between the two camps. "It's a matter of hours or days," he said Saturday. The pressure surrounding the negotiations is all the stronger as the compromise, once reached, will have to be validated by the Senate and the House of Representatives. However, many elected officials have returned to their fiefdoms for a few days on the occasion of the "Memorial Day" holiday weekend and could be recalled to Washington urgently.
There is also the threat of seeing the agreement shunned in Congress, progressive elected representatives of the Democratic Party, as well as some elected representatives of the Republican Party, having threatened not to ratify or to delay as much as possible a text that would make too many concessions to the opposing camp. On Friday, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said a deal was "paramount" for the global economy, while stressing that the United States must do "more to reduce public debt."
