Biden, congressional leaders postpone second meeting on debt ceiling

May 12 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden and top congressional leaders postponed a second planned meeting on raising the debt ceiling planned for Friday, as the nation faces economic chaos if a deal wasn't reached by June.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said the delay was simply logistical, and that negotiations remained on track after he failed to reach consensus with Biden during a meeting three days ago in the Oval Office, which was joined by House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.; Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

"We are going to meet again," he said, while suggesting his office staff needed more time to continue discussing the matter with White House aides.

Lawmakers involved in the talks indicated there was some movement taking place behind the scenes.

"There have been very good discussions over the last few days at the staff level. And I think the decision was collectively made, led by the White House, to allow those staff conversations to continue," Jeffries said.

Others were more skeptical about the brief pause in talks.

"The principals are literally only two people. The president of the United States and Kevin McCarthy," said House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn, said on Thursday. "Those are the two that should be meeting. And the fact that they're not tomorrow, that's not a good sign."

Biden and McCarthy emerged from Tuesday's meeting without a breakthrough following several months of deadlock as the White House and Congress remain split over paying the nation's debt through Republican spending cuts, which Biden has refused to go along with.

The president has said he wants to raise the debt ceiling without any conditions and negotiate spending cuts as part of the national budget plan, while McCarthy has continued to express frustration with Biden since the House passed a bill in April that would slash federal programs to raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion over the next year.

Despite the impasse, the White House has continued to engage with McCarthy's staff throughout the week, including a two-hour meeting Thursday on Capitol Hill, which was attended by Biden's top legislative aide Louisa Terrell.

The stakes were high as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned earlier in the week that if Congress didn't raise the debt ceiling, the United States would face an economic and financial "catastrophe" by summer.

House Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said the delay could be a sign that the White House might be feeling increased pressure to shift its strategy.

"I hope it means they're reconsidering their ridiculous strategy of saying we have to have a clean debt limit because they can't get one through either house," Cole said. "So hopefully this means the White House is finally serious about addressing the debt crisis."

Biden has admitted that he might consider a Republican demand to rescind some of the billions of dollars in pandemic relief funds that have not been spent yet, saying, "It's on the table."

Biden, however, has remained adamant that federal spending cuts should be separate and distinct from talks to raise the $31.4 trillion debt limit, while Democratic leaders accuse House Republicans of attempting to hold the country hostage by refusing to take default off the table.