Biden, McCarthy To Complete Debt Ceiling Agreement
By Jason Hall
May 28, 2023
President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy will reportedly complete the debt ceiling agreement Sunday (May 28) afternoon before the legislation is released by Republicans, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries confirmed in a letter to his caucus obtained by NBC News.
Negotiators reached an agreement in principle Saturday (May 27) night, which will extend the debt ceiling and prevents a damaging default. Republicans will prepare the legislative text of the bill before it is reviewed by the Biden administration and finalized, Jeffries confirmed in his letter to Democrats on Sunday.
Biden and McCarthy are expected to speak publicly no later than 2:00 p.m., at which point "shortly thereafter the legislative bill text will be released by House Republicans and made available to the House, Senate and American people," Jeffries wrote, adding that the top members of the Biden administration plan to brief the House Democratic Caucus on the deal at 5:00 p.m.
“It is my expectation that over the next several days, there will be multiple opportunities to review and discuss the legislation with the Biden administration in advance of any midweek vote scheduled by House Republicans,” Jeffries wrote via NBC News.
McCarthy had previously said he and Biden planned to discuss the language of the bill during a call scheduled to take place Sunday afternoon in order to "make sure both sides agree" during his press conference Sunday morning. The house speaker added that the legislative text of the bill will be about 150 pages of less and that GOP lawmakers were "overwhelmingly excited" about the reported deal, which he thinks will have support from congress.
“This is going to be transformational, where Congress is literally going to vote to spend less money this year than we spent last year," McCarthy said via NBC News.