President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agree on one thing heading into a crucial Tuesday meeting: they don't want a short-term debt-limit extension.
But the two men at the center of the high-stakes talks are showing no signs of willingness to compromise, risking a first-ever U.S. default as a June 1 deadline looms.
"Why continue to kick the can down the road?" McCarthy told reporters Tuesday at the Capitol, rejecting any deal that merely buys time until Sept. 30. "Let's solve it now."
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre likewise said a short-term extension isn't Biden's "plan" but took a dig at the speaker, who has demanded deep domestic spending cuts in exchange for Republican votes to raise the nation's borrowing limit.
"This can be easily resolved," Jean-Pierre said. "This is a man-made crisis that the speaker is leading."
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned the nation could exhaust its ability to meet all payment obligations by June 1 without action, leaving little time for a broad bipartisan deal.
Despite the comments, a short-term increase remains likely given the short window to strike a deal.
U.S. stocks slumped Tuesday as the debt ceiling impasse dragged on investor sentiment, with the benchmark S&P 500 down 0.4% at mid-day and 0.2% at 2 pm in New York.
The speaker said he is focused on getting Biden to agree to budget negotiations and has no interest in reducing the pressure he's applying on the president.
"It's the same message I gave him 97 days ago. Why don't we sit down and work this all out? He said he would meet with us and he ignored us for 97 days," McCarthy said.
Biden and McCarthy last met on Feb. 1 and have since been in a war of words as the market begins to show signs of strain.
Next Steps
The two leaders will sit down along with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries at 4 pm at the White House.
