US debt ceiling stand-off: Joe Biden says he’s optimistic as ‘catastrophic’ default looms
- US President Joe Biden and congressional leaders will likely resume talks on Tuesday at the White House over the country’s debt limit
- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the US risks default as soon as June 1 if the debt limit is not suspended or raised
US President Joe Biden said he remains “optimistic” about finding an agreement with his Republican opponents to raise the US debt limit and avoid a default, which his administration warned would cause “catastrophic” consequences.
Congressional Republicans are demanding budget cuts in exchange for lifting the US borrowing limit, while the White House has insisted for months that the nation’s credit should not be up for negotiation.
Alarm bells are meanwhile ringing over the possibility of a first-ever US default, with uncertainty over the actual date the government would stop being able to pay its bills.
The two sides have remained at an impasse despite weeks of warnings from government officials and bankers that a default could unleash drastic consequences, including a possible recession and likely global financial contagion.
Nonetheless, Biden said Sunday he thinks he will eventually be able to reach a deal.
“I remain optimistic because I’m a congenital optimist, but I really think there’s a desire on their part as well as ours to reach agreement. I think we’ll be able to do it,” Biden told reporters while out on a bike ride near his beach home in Delaware.