Joe Biden denies debt default and confirms talks with Republicans are working

President Joe Biden He confirmed this Thursday that US default will be avoided as he negotiates against the clock against a deal with Republicans on raising the debt ceiling.

“There will be no normalcy,” the head of state said as he held talks with the Republican leader of the House of Representatives. Kevin McCarthyThere have been “productions”.

Along these lines, the presidential spokesperson, Karine Jean-Pierre, spelled it out some time ago: “The group had constructive discussions (…) That means there is one more way”.

The statements from the White House come a week after “X Day,” when Republicans who control the House of Representatives don’t increase the debt ceiling, when the government will run out of money.

The speaker pointed out that this final round of negotiations took place in the early hours of Thursday morning. “Both parties need to understand that they’re not going to get everything they want,” he said.

Republicans are demanding major spending cuts as a condition of extending the U.S. debt ceiling. Biden rejected that option, accusing Republicans of holding the world’s largest economy hostage and pushing it to the brink of debt default.

“Non-payment is not an option”Clarified, however, Jean-Pierre, noted that shock A default could cost eight million jobs and “wipe out retirement accounts.”

Asked whether President Biden was preparing a contingency plan B if the talks did not yield a compromise, a White House spokesman indicated. “The only way for now is for Congress to do its job.”

On his part, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthyHe said he had spoken with Donald Trump about the debt ceiling crisis in recent days, and that the former Republican president urged him to negotiate a “good” deal.

“I talked to President Trump the other day and it came up, but only for a second,” McCarthy told reporters outside the Capitol.

Trump, who is seeking a second term in 2024 amid several legal hurdles, downplayed the impact of the default during remarks at an event hosted by the network. CNN Earlier this month.

“He told me to look for a good agreement as we move forward in the negotiations.”McCarthy said after overnight talks between House Republicans and White House representatives, some progress appeared ahead of next week’s deadline.

The US Treasury has warned it will run out of funds to cover all of its spending by June 1, triggering a devastating default on the economy unless Congress reaches a deal.

A source close to the talks told the news agency Reuters McCarthy and President Biden were close to reaching an agreement on Thursday.

Some hard-line Republicans in the House opposed any deal that offered concessions. And they insist that sharp spending cuts must be included.

In this context, The US confirmed this Thursday that its economy is cooling Maintaining the 0.3% estimate for quarterly growth from January to March, three-tenths below what was recorded in the last three months of 2022.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) however estimated a higher annual growth rate than initially calculated: 1.3% compared to 1.1% in the first publication of this figure last April.

According to the BEA, the improvement in the annual calculation was due to an upward revision in private investment and public spending, as well as non-residential investment and consumption and exports offsetting lower residential investment. Imports were also revised upwards.

However, the data confirms that the world’s leading economy has slowed its growth at a time marked by continued hikes in interest rates to control inflation.

Earlier this month, The Federal Reserve raised the official interest rate by 0.25 basis points Its highest rate in 15 years, until keeping it in the range of 5% to 5.25%.

The inflation rate fell by a tenth to 4.9% in April. The unemployment rate was 3.4 percent that month.

Fitch rating agency released yesterday on Wednesday “Negative tracking” US debtDue to the lack of progress in negotiations, the highest grade (AAA) awarded by the company.

(With information from Reuters and EFE)

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