“I felt as though we had a very good conversation. And we left it by saying we will continue the conversation,” McCarthy said in a 31-minute gaggle at the Capitol with reporters. “That doesn’t mean we have an agreement. I think, though, we have a better perspective where each of us are and I truly believe we can come to an agreement.”
Both Biden and McCarthy went into the meeting with clearly stated positions. Biden’s was that he would not negotiate spending cuts to lift the debt limit and McCarthy’s was that he wouldn’t lift the debt limit without commitments to spending cuts.
… While McCarthy played the role of happy warrior Wednesday, the White House maintained a more cautious approach. Officials also didn’t publicly lob any criticisms at McCarthy, in a sign the conversation went well enough.
A readout from the meeting from the White House said Biden made clear he’s happy to talk about deficit reduction, but not as part of debt limit talks.
