Biden Fails to Negotiate US Debt Limit: We Should Be Nervous

By | 18. May 2023

Summary:

  • House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy says President Joe Biden is failing to negotiate the raising of the US debt limit.
  • Many analysts predict a financial crisis if a deal is not reached, and that risk assets like Bitcoin (BTC) would fare the worst.
  • President Biden addressed the nation this morning, saying that he believes an agreement to avoid a default is imminent.

Speaker McCarthy Warns of Looming Debt Default

House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy has warned that President Joe Biden is failing to adequately negotiate the raising of the US debt limit. If an agreement isn’t reached in time, many analysts predict a financial crisis could occur, with risk assets like Bitcoin (BTC) faring the worst.

“We Should Be Nervous”

In an interview with CNBC, McCarthy said that he has criticized Biden for not negotiating earlier on. He warned that now “we should be nervous” as there is only a tight deadline left to reach an agreement before default becomes inevitable.
McCarthy said, “I’ve been on your show many times telling you we should be nervous because the president’s not negotiating.” He added that he never wanted them to work towards such a tight deadline and expressed his confidence that they will find away to come to an agreement and prevent a debt default from happening.

He continued, “I think at the end of the day, we do not have a debt default. I think we finally got the president to agree to negotiate. That was probably difficult for him to say as president he would negotiate with somebody, but it’s really what the old Joe Biden was good at.”

McCarthy said he and President Biden have worked out a framework for productive negotiations between their two teams in order for them to reach an agreement before June 1st when their current borrowing authority expires.

He concluded by saying “But we’re going to make sure we’re in the room and get this done.”

Biden’s Response

President Biden addressed the nation this morning regarding negotiations over raising thdebt ceiling and avoiding defaulting on payments due on June 1st. He confirmed his belief that they will reach an agreement soon saying “I’m proud of the progress my administration has made,” adding “Yesterday, we all agreed that both speaker McCarthy and I would designate senior members [of our staff] …to negotiate.”

Conclusion

In conclusion it appears both sides are optimistic about being able to reach some sort of deal in time which would prevent any economic disaster caused by defaulting on payments due in June 1st. Only time will tell if their efforts are successful or if panic selling will ensue as result of no agreement being reached before then.