No plan on the table despite debt ceiling talks with Biden, Republicans

With a possible U.S. debt default just weeks away, Republicans, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, are pushing for President Biden to cut trillions of dollars in federal spending before agreeing to increase the debt limit. This is not a normal place for us to be, to have House Republicans hold our economy hostage. But the president has called for a debt limit hike without any preconditions. A White House meeting between the president and congressional leaders on Tuesday ended without a deal, and a meeting scheduled for Friday was postponed. I have not seen from there a seriousness of the White House that they want a deal.

On Saturday, the president tweeting default is not an option, saying he thinks the talks are moving along. There's real discussion about some changes, but we're not there yet. Increasing the debt limit would allow the U.S. to continue paying its bills, and lawmakers are running out of time. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office is warning of a significant risk the government won't have enough money to pay its bills in the first two weeks of June. If that happens, as many as 66 million Americans may see their Social Security payments delayed, federal workers and troops could go unpaid.

Millions of jobs could be slashed and borrowing costs could spike. Staffers are meeting through this weekend to try to make progress on a deal. Two potential areas of agreement on the budget talks include reforming permits for energy projects, and clawing back unspent COVID relief funds. The president is expected to meet with the four leaders of Congress again early next week. Elizabeth Scholesy, ABC News, Washington.

debt ceiling, joe biden, kevin mccarthy, u.s. economy