US debt ceiling talks hampered by serious differences

Washington, May 20

White House and Republican negotiators have resumed US debt ceiling talks after a brief pause that rattled financial markets, the media reported.

The Republican House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy said negotiations at the Capitol were back on, but the White House warned of "serious differences", reports the BBC.

Republicans had suspended talks hours earlier, accusing the White House of "unreasonable" requests.

Without a deal, the US could default on its $31.4 trillion debt. That would mean the government could not borrow any more money or pay all of its bills.

The Treasury Department has warned that a default could begin on June 1.

Speaker McCarthy told Fox Business on Friday evening: "We'll be back in the room tonight. But it's very frustrating if they want to come into the room and think we're going to spend more money next year than we did this year. That's not right, and that's not going to happen."

He said he had not spoken to President Joe Biden, who is attending the G7 summit in Japan and will be back in Washington on Sunday after cutting short his foreign trip, the BBC reported.

Garret Graves, the lead Republican negotiator, told reporters they had had a "candid discussion about realistic numbers, a realistic path forward and something that truly changes the trajectory of this country's spending and debt problem".

The White House suggested the two sides were still some way from an agreement.

Speaking at a news conference in Hiroshima, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: "We have serious differences. And this is going to continue to be a difficult conversation. That's not lost on us."