Congress and the White House are running out of time to prevent a potentially disastrous default on the U.S. debt.
The “X date” — the day that the government will run out of money to pay its bills — could come as early as June 1, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen warned lawmakers this week.
Technically, that gives congressional leaders and President Biden about a month to cut a deal on raising the government’s borrowing limit. But in reality, they may have just six working days to figure out a solution — without which the nation risks falling short on its financial obligations.
Biden and congressional leaders are scheduled to be in Washington at the same time for less than a week between now and the end of May, according to a review of their public calendars.
Biden has invited House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) to the White House on May 9 to discuss the debt ceiling.
Their negotiations could continue for the following seven days. But May 16 is the last day all the key players are scheduled to be in Washington.
After that, Biden will be out of the country for more than a week, traveling to Japan for a Group of Seven summit and then to Australia for talks with other leaders of the “Quad”: Australia, Japan, the United States and India. The House and the Senate are both slated to be out around the Memorial Day holiday.
If talks falter, Biden could delay or cancel his trip. He postponed travel as vice president during previous fiscal standoffs. And President Barack Obama in 2013 called off a week-long trip to Asia to deal with a looming government shutdown.
In a press briefing Tuesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre deflected a question about whether Biden would change his travel plans this time around.
The Senate could cancel its week-long recess leading up to Memorial Day if the showdown drags on. And the House could decide to stay in town at the end of the month. So far, leaders haven’t said whether they intend to do so.
But a few extra days may not make a big difference in the parties’ ability to reach a permanent resolution, given that both sides have shown little appetite for straying from their current position. House Republicans want Biden to agree to spending cuts in exchange for their votes to raise the ceiling. But Biden has made clear that he views spending cuts and the debt ceiling as different issues, and that he wants the debt ceiling to be raised without conditions.
Last week, House Republicans approved a bill that would temporarily raise the debt ceiling in exchange for slashing federal spending and undoing parts of Biden’s legislative agenda. The measure has virtually no chance of passing in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and Biden has threatened to veto the legislation.
Against that backdrop, Yellen told lawmakers this week that inaction could cause “severe hardship to American families, harm our global leadership position, and raise questions about our ability to defend our national security interests.”
“I respectfully urge Congress,” she said, “to protect the full faith and credit of the United States by acting as soon as possible.”
