President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy spoke by phone Saturday night as the White House and Republican congressional negotiators continue to work toward an investigation. debt ceiling agreement.
CBS News has learned that Biden and McCarthy spoke on the phone around 6 p.m. ET. Biden spoke earlier with Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Representative House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies.
A White House official said CBS News negotiators “continue to make progress.”
However, the GOP negotiator, Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, struck a more dovish tone, telling reporters just before the call that there was still a split between the two sides over spending numbers and business requirements.
He said these disagreements – and “most of the remaining issues” – need to be resolved by Biden and McCarthy, at their invitation.
McHenry added: “These are big and thorny issues that we must fix in a divided government.”
McCarthy was at the Capitol this weekend, telling reporters Saturday morning, “We don’t have a deal. We’re not there yet. We’ve made progress.”
He said he and the negotiators “worked well early this morning and we’re getting back to it now.”
There are “some things we have to finish,” he said, adding, “We have to make sure we get the right deal for the American people.”
Asked later Saturday morning if he was confident a deal could be done in the afternoon, McCarthy replied, “I don’t know today.”
The time is running out for suspending or raising the debt ceiling to avoid the first default by the US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a letter to Congress Friday, “We now estimate that the Treasury will not have sufficient resources to meet the government’s obligations if Congress does not raise or suspend the debt limit by June 5th.”
Despite pressure to address the debt limit, McCarthy reaffirmed that the House would maintain the 72-hour rule, which gives House members 72 hours to review the bill after completing its text before voting on it.
“This will be an agreement and I think everyone should be able to read it,” he said. But unlike much legislation considered by Congress, McCarthy expected this one to be shorter, “150 pages or less.”
If negotiators reach an agreement, the spokesperson said he will contact all congressional leaders and discuss “the ground where we’re going” and a timeline for passage.
McCarthy said he spoke to Sen. Kirsten Sinema, and suggested that negotiators also got ideas from Democratic lawmakers like moderate Sen. Joe Manchin and Rep. Josh Gottheimer.
Pressed on the timing of the deal, McCarthy merely said, “Every day I feel closer and better.”
McHenry said negotiators have narrowed down the list of issues to be addressed.
“It’s not how I predicted the last hours, the last days would go. But we’re getting to a very narrow set of issues to deal with… We have a very long list for a very long time,” he told reporters early Saturday morning. We have a very short list for a very long time.”
Biden told reporters on Friday that he was also optimistic.
“In terms of the debt limit, things look fine,” the president said as he left for Camp David over the weekend. “I’m very hopeful. Hopefully we’ll have some clearer evidence tonight before it hits 12 that we have a deal. But it’s very close, and I’m hopeful.”
— Katherine Watson contributed to this report.
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