Why Biden and the GOP could have just days to solve debt crisis

While Congress does not technically need to raise the debt ceiling until the summer, President Joe Biden and House and Senate leaders actually have a limited window to passing a debt limit increase: six days.

There will only be six days, as of now, when both the Senate and House are in session and Biden is in Washington, D.C., before the United States will exhaust its abilities to pay its debts. The dates go from May 9 to May 16 before the president heads to Japan for the G-7 meeting and then to Australia. After May 16, either the Senate or the House is in session, but not at the same time.

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Time is not on the side of congressional leaders. The “X date,” the point at which the federal government will exhaust the extraordinary measures being used to meet its debts, could occur as soon as June 1, more than a month ahead of the previous deadline.

Biden invited House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to the White House on May 9. Their negotiations could go on for several days, but May 16 will mark the last day that all key players are in D.C.

It is possible that the Senate could decide to cancel its weeklong recess leading up to Memorial Day, and the House could opt to stay in D.C. until the end of the month. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to tell reporters on Tuesday whether Biden would change his travel plans if a solution is not found.

McConnell confirmed he would attend the debt ceiling meeting with his fellow Republicans but maintained his position that the solution to the looming crisis lies with Biden and McCarthy. He has said he is “for the speaker” and his budget proposal but that the Senate will not play much of a role in passing the debt limit.

House GOP leaders have taken a step toward raising the debt limit after the lower chamber passed McCarthy’s Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 in late April. The bill would raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion or through March 31, 2024, whichever comes first. However, the bill includes a number of conservative economic provisions criticized by the White House and top Democrats in both chambers.

The White House has zeroed in on several hot-button Limit, Save, Grow Act provisions, claiming that the bill will terminate thousands of Border Patrol agents, cut Medicare and Medicaid, and possibly cut veterans’ healthcare and benefit programs.

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Democrats accused Republicans of holding the U.S. “hostage” and choosing “brinkmanship” over simply raising the debt limit, which in recent years has been a chance for the GOP to make demands when it comes to spending. However, Biden has made it clear that he believes raising the debt limit and cutting spending are two different things and is advocating a higher debt ceiling without any concessions.

Schumer has placed two competing debt limit bills on the Senate calendar, including one that would suspend the debt limit through 2024 as well as the GOP-led debt limit bill that already passed the House. However, it is unknown if either will come to the floor for a vote, and the Senate majority leader said a decision would follow the meeting with the White House.