Key GOP Negotiator Says ‘Thorny’ Issues Unsettled in Debt Deal

Representative Patrick McHenry said Saturday that there are still “thorny issues” in the negotiations between House Republicans and the White House to avert a catastrophic US default.

(Bloomberg) — Representative Patrick McHenry said Saturday that there are still “thorny issues” in the negotiations between House Republicans and the White House to avert a catastrophic US default. 

“It’s hours or days, I don’t know when,” McHenry, one of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s top negotiators, said at the Capitol. 

There is a “very short list” of differences that remain, he added. 

Negotiators for McCarthy and President Joe Biden worked into the night to try to resolve a default, which Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says could happen June 5. McHenry said it’s a “severe challenge” to pass a bill before that X-date.

Work requirements for anti-poverty programs were among the remaining sticking points Friday night. 

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