Speaker Kevin McCarthy (D-CA) said the House will stay and continue working on raising the debt ceiling and, if need be, cancel its Memorial Day recess.
With only 10 days left to raise the debt ceiling before the June 1 deadline for default, McCarthy said the House would “stay and do their job” until they get a deal put together.
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Per House rules, any bill needs 72 hours before it can be heard on the floor to give members time to read the legislation. Because of this, the earliest a bill could be heard on the floor is Thursday if negotiators were to come to an agreement and have the bill's text ready by Monday night, which is unlikely to happen. And, with the Senate on recess this week, the upper chamber will only have three days to vote on any debt ceiling bill before the June 1 deadline next week.
McCarthy emphasized again Monday that while conversations with White House negotiators have been “productive,” there is still no agreement. He is scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden at 5:30 p.m. at the White House to continue talks.
“I thought it would have been better to have a deal sooner,” McCarthy told reporters. “I think we can get a deal tonight, we can get a deal tomorrow, but you've got to get something done this week to be able to pass it and move it to the Senate.”
The White House negotiators met with McCarthy’s negotiators for about three hours Monday morning. Neither party answered any questions from reporters when they left the Capitol.
Despite the Freedom Caucus saying last week they want to see the House’s debt ceiling package signed into law, McCarthy said he isn’t worried about losing the right flank of his party on whatever compromise he comes to with the White House.
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“I always believe what they say in their letter. But I’m not worried,” McCarthy said when asked about the caucus’ position.
McCarthy wouldn’t say whether or not he thinks he will need Democratic support to get a debt ceiling bill across the finish line but said, “Anytime you come to an agreement that you're negotiating with the president, Democrats and Republicans are both gonna vote for it” and “that's what divided government is.”