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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., hosts a press conference with House and Senate Republicans on the “debt crisis,” in the West Plaza of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, May 17, 2023.
tom williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Thursday he was optimistic that congressional negotiators could reach an agreement to raise or suspend the debt ceiling in time to hold a vote in the House next week. .
“I see the path by which we can come to an agreement,” McCarthy told reporters on Capitol Hill. “And I think we have a structure now and everyone is working hard, and I mean, we work two or three times a day and then we come back to get more numbers.”
McCarthy spoke as a small group of White House negotiators met on Capitol Hill with McCarthy’s team to strike a deal capable of passing the Republican-majority House and the Democratic-controlled Senate before a potential deadline of June 1, after which the Treasury will run out of money to pay debts already incurred.
“I just believe that where we were a week ago and where we are today is a much better place, because we have the right people in the room to discuss it in a very professional way, with all the knowledge, all the backgrounds of all the different leaders,” McCarthy added, according to multiple reporters in attendance.
This week, the White House dispatched two new negotiators to lead the delicate talks, presidential adviser Steve Ricchetti and director of the Office of Management and Budget Shalanda Young.
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