(Washington) Negotiations between the White House and the Republican opposition over the debt ceiling appeared to be deadlocked on Saturday night in Washington, with each side accusing the other of stalling talks, as time is running out to avoid a default of payment from the United States.
On Friday night, the Republican team “put on the table an offer that was a big step backwards and contained a set of extreme partisan demands that could never be passed in both houses of Congress,” the city said in a statement. White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre, calling for “be serious”.
And, according to her, it is the Republican officials under the thumb of those close to Donald Trump “who (threaten) to put our nation in default for the first time in our history”, but “not the president (Joe Biden) nor the officials democrats”.
The White House, determined not to let the Republicans hold the Democrats responsible for the situation in the eyes of public opinion, even sent a note to the editors on Saturday, with the details of the proposals.
The Republican official in the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, told him Saturday evening, in a tweet, that “the White House has taken a step back in the negotiations”.
“Unfortunately, the left wing of the Democratic Party seems to be in charge, especially with President Biden out of the country,” he lamented.
Joe Biden is indeed in Japan, where the meeting of the G7 countries is being held, and from where he had reaffirmed his optimism earlier in the day, believing that the United States would be able to avoid a default.
He cut short his Asia-Pacific tour due to the US debt crisis and is due to return to Washington on Sunday after the Hiroshima summit ends.
The sticking point remains the budget, with Republicans demanding spending cuts to agree to raise the debt ceiling, and thus allow the country to honor its financial commitments.
Without a quick deal, the United States could, potentially as early as 1er June, no longer be able to repay their creditors or pay the salaries of certain civil servants and the pensions of former soldiers, among others.
This could have catastrophic consequences for the US economy, but also the world.