House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that negotiators on the federal debt limit may reach an agreement in principle as soon as this weekend and that he expects his chamber to consider a deal by next week.
“I can see now where a deal can come together,” the California Republican told reporters Thursday at the Capitol.
In order to avoid a historic US default, McCarthy said, the House will need to vote by next week on any compromise produced by the negotiators he and President Joe Biden named on Tuesday.
McCarthy’s comments were his most positive take yet on the negotiations to avoid a default, which Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has signaled could become a risk as soon as June 1. Stocks showed modest gains on the news, with the S&P 500 hitting its high of the session, while the dollar extended an advance against major currencies.
Republicans have been pressing for sweeping spending cuts, along with regulatory changes that Democrats have opposed. The months-long impasse between the two sides since the Treasury hit the debt limit in January has prompted increasing warnings from economists of a damaging recession if the brinkmanship continues to escalate.
Texas Republican Kay Granger, the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said a deal is “close.”
Maryland Representative Steny Hoyer, the former Democratic leader, also expressed optimism. “I think we are going to get a deal,” he said.
The Treasury has been deploying special accounting measures since January to stay within the $31.4 trillion statutory ceiling, but those have been steadily running out.
Read More: Treasury Has Just $88 Billion of Measures Left to Avoid Debt Cap
To meet the June 1 deadline, McCarthy said the House needs to vote next week. An “agreement in principle,” he added, is possible this weekend.
McCarthy said that the five negotiators from the two sides are still discussing the amount of the spending cuts and the size or length of the debt-ceiling increase or suspension.
Negotiations are happening two to three times a day and there is a “structure” to the talks, he said. McCarthy also specified that he had confidence in two of President Joe Biden’s chief negotiators, Shalanda Young and Steven Ricchetti.
Investors have in recent weeks been incorporating the risk of the Treasury running out of sufficient cash, demanding higher premiums on Treasury securities maturing in early June. Market participants have warned of a surge in borrowing costs and blow to equities in the event of any default, with reverberations to the global economy that could rival the 2008 crash.
What Bloomberg Economics Says...
In the scenario where a default is avoided but extended brinkmanship triggers market stress, the potential economic hit isn’t pretty:
•The short, mild recession currently expected becomes a deeper one, with an annualized GDP decline of 1.8% in the second half of 2023.
•The unemployment rate rises to 5.3% by mid-2024, versus 4.8% in our baseline.
If the Treasury is forced to cut spending to service debt, a conservative estimate would put the GDP drop at 8%.
— Anna Wong, chief US economist
For the full note, click here
McCarthy told reporters he’s continuing to push for expanded work requirements to be linked to government anti-poverty benefits. That’s been a major sticking point in the talks, with progressive Democrats warning Biden not to agree to changes.
McCarthy also quipped that previous Republican House speakers John Boehner and Paul Ryan, who visited the Capitol this week, are glad they aren’t involved in the current debt-limit debate.
