House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) struck an optimistic tone about Congress averting a debt ceiling calamity.
"It was a very positive meeting yesterday. It was calm. It was candid, in terms of the discussion, and I'm optimistic that common ground will be found in the next week or so," Jeffries told CNBC's Squawk Box.
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Jeffries's comments about the debt ceiling draw a sharp contrast to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's (R-CA) more frustrated tone, as the House speaker continues to push President Joe Biden to come to an agreement on the debt ceiling, emphasizing the timeline to do so is "very short."
"The challenge here is the president waited 104 days until he came to this conclusion," McCarthy told CNBC.
Jeffries attended a meeting of the "big four" congressional leaders with Biden on Tuesday, which yielded no major breakthroughs. The two sides agreed to a new structure for negotiations featuring direct talks between McCarthy's and Biden's teams.
"It was a positive meeting yesterday," says Leader @RepJeffries on the debt ceiling negotiations. "It was calm, it was candid in terms of the discussion and I'm optimistic that common ground will be found in the next week." pic.twitter.com/YPeJVGmNlu
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) May 17, 2023
Still, Jeffries underscored there are major differences between the two sides as the nation barrels toward the June 1 "X Date," on which Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen estimates the government will run out of cash. He noted that Democrats disagree with McCarthy on work requirements.
"So-called work requirements are a nonstarter," Jeffries said. "There are already significant work requirements that exist under law, and Republicans previously and explicitly voted against them. We can have a discussion about those issues, but that should be done in the context of the farm bill."
Stricter work requirements on social spending programs were part of the GOP's Limit, Save, Grow Act to hike the debt ceiling. Over the weekend, Biden noted that he "voted for tougher aid programs" in the past but insisted "for Medicaid, it's a different story."
Negotiators are also reportedly at odds over the longevity and extent of spending caps that Republicans are seeking. GOP plans to scrap Biden's student loan forgiveness plan and provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act were also red lines for Democrats.
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Jeffries stressed that Democrats are open to a separate "appropriations discussion" and deficit reduction.
"It can't only be draconian spending cuts that would hurt the safety, the well-being, and the health of the American people. We also have to make sure that revenue is put on the table," Jeffries said. "That's a conversation that we can have. But that should be done in the context of the budget discussion."