President Biden has invited House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to the White House to discuss raising the nation’s borrowing limit as the Treasury Department indicates that the US could default on its debt earlier than expected. 

Biden, 80, reached out to McCarthy, 58, to set a meeting with other lawmakers as the House speaker visited Jerusalem on Monday in celebration of Israel’s 75th anniversary, the White House said in a statement.  

Aside from McCarthy, Biden also reached out to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). Biden told them that he wants to discuss passing a clean debt ceiling bill, according to CNN.

The meeting is expected to take place on May 9. 

The president’s overtures to McCarthy came on the same day that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned in a statement to lawmakers that the US government could default as early as June 1 if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling.

“In My January 13 letter, I noted that it was unlikely that cash and extraordinary measures would be exhausted before early June. After reviewing recent federal tax receipts, our best estimate is that we will be unable to continue to satisfy all of the government’s obligations by early June, and potentially as early as June 1, if Congress does not raise or suspend the debt limit before that time,” Yellen wrote in her Monday letter. 

“Given the current projections, it is imperative that Congress act as soon as possible to increase or suspend the debt limit in a way that provides longer-term certainty that the government will continue to make its payments,” she added. 

McCarthy and Biden last met on Feb. 1, at the White House, where the two discussed government spending and the debt ceiling. 

“We agreed to continue the conversation,” McCarthy told reporters after the meeting. 

Since that meeting, the Republican-controlled House has passed legislation that would allow the federal government to borrow another $1.5 trillion or until March 31, 2024 – whichever milestone is reached first – in exchange for discretionary spending cuts for non-defense programs. 

The legislation, which narrowly passed the House on April 26,  would also limit the growth of future expenditures to 1% per year for the next decade, cancel Biden’s student loan debt forgiveness plan and roll back portions of Democrats’ $739 billion government spending package implemented last year. 

Schumer has indicated that the GOP-backed bill is “dead on arrival” in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Biden and Senate Democrats have demanded that a bill to raise the debt ceiling be passed with no strings — such as spending cuts — attached.  

On the day Republicans passed their debt bill, Biden told reporters that he would be “happy to meet with McCarthy, but not on whether or not the debt limit gets extended.”

“That’s not negotiable,” he declared. 

After last week’s successful vote, McCarthy accused Biden of ignoring the debt ceiling issue by refusing to negotiate with Republicans. 

“The sad part here is, now the Democrats need to do their job,” McCarthy told reporters after the vote, noting that his conference had passed its bill “way ahead of the debt limit.” 

“The president can no longer ignore by not negotiating,” the speaker added. “Senator [Chuck] Schumer, if he thinks he’s got a plan, put it on the floor – see if you can pass it.”

“We lifted the debt limit, we’ve sent it to the Senate, we’ve done our job, the only body in here that’s done theirs,” McCarthy went on.