WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden plans to be “always in touch” with debt ceiling negotiators and promised to update the public on Sunday upon his return from a shortened trip to Asia for the G7 economic summit.
Biden gave a brief speech on Wednesday before leaving for a planned trip to Japan, which was dropped from his planned trips to Australia and Papua New Guinea.
“We will continue to consult with parliamentary leaders over the next few days until an agreement is reached. I’ll be back here on Sunday.”
The White House confirmed Tuesday following Biden’s remarks. meeting He said the visit would be coordinated with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other leaders.
The parties agreed to reduce the negotiator’s circle to designated representatives, a move that McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said they had been wanting for weeks.
McCarthy appointed Louisiana Rep. Garrett Graves to the negotiations on behalf of the Republican Party, while the White House appointed Budget Director Shalanda Young and Presidential Counsel Steve Ricketty.
Biden called Tuesday’s meeting “polite and polite.”
“I am confident that we will reach an agreement on the budget. The United States will not default,” he said. “And all the leaders out there understand the consequences if we don’t pay our bills, and that it will be devastating for the American economy and the American people.”
The US reached its $31.4 trillion borrowing limit in January, and since then the US Treasury Department has taken special accounting measures to keep paying the country’s creditors.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reiterated, warned Congress said the fiscal maneuver could end within weeks and could lead to default on the bill as early as June 1, sparking a spiral of economic turmoil at home and globally.
All but a handful of House Republicans supported a bill that would temporarily raise the debt ceiling in exchange for caps on future federal spending and other cost-cutting measures. Additional work requirements For Americans who depend on government food and medical aid.
Biden told reporters on Tuesday that he “will not accept any work requirements that affect people’s medical health needs.”
“We are not going to accept work requirements that greatly exceed what is already[established]. I voted in favor of existing labor requirements many years ago. Yes, but no significant impact,” he continued.
quad
In early May, the White House touted Mr. Biden’s planned visits to Australia and Papua New Guinea as “historic” and a way to strengthen his “critical leadership” in the South Pacific region.
The strategic alliance of the United States, Japan, Australia and India, dubbed the “Quad,” signals China’s increasing focus on the Indo-Pacific region as it expands its influence in the South China Sea.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has since cancel The leaders are now scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the G7 meeting of the economic powerhouses, ahead of the Quad Summit, which was scheduled to take place in Sydney.
Asked by reporters if Biden’s cancellation of a trip to the South Pacific nations signaled a weakening of China, Biden replied, “No, we are still in talks. We still have four good allies.”
The visit was supposed to be the first visit to Papua New Guinea by a sitting US president, according to the White House.
Air Force One will also make a brief stop in Anchorage, Alaska on its way to Japan late Wednesday.
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