President Joe Biden said that he was hopeful negotiators on a debt ceiling agreement would know by Friday night whether they have a deal.
(Bloomberg) — President Joe Biden said that he was hopeful negotiators on a debt ceiling agreement would know by Friday night whether they have a deal.
Biden, in brief remarks to reporters at the White House before leaving for part of the Memorial Day weekend at Camp David, said he was “very optimistic.” He was accompanied by Deputy chief of Staff Bruce Reed, one of his closest advisers.
“With regard to the debt limit, things are looking good, very optimistic. I hope we’ll have some clear evidence tonight before the clock strikes 12,” he said.
“With the negotiation going on, I’m hopeful we’ll know by tonight whether we are going to be able to have a deal,” the president added.
White House and Republican teams continued Friday to try to forge an accord on federal spending and raising the government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling.
White House and Republican negotiators tentatively narrowed differences but were still in disagreement over key issues as the Treasury Department signaled extra time was available before a potential US default.
“I don’t bow to anybody” Biden said when asked about GOP demands for work requirements.
June 5 is the new estimated date when the government would no longer be able to be able to pay all its debts, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a letter to Congressional leaders.
“We will make more than $130 billion of scheduled payments in the first two days of June, including payments to veterans and Social Security and Medicare recipients. These payments will leave Treasury with an extremely low level of resources,” Yellen said.
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