With time running short to address the debt ceiling or risk default, the White House is "reevaluating" President Joe Biden's upcoming trip to the Indo-Pacific region.
Biden is set to depart Wednesday to meet with U.S. allies in Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other Republicans have criticized Biden's plans as lawmakers face a possible June 1 default deadline.
White House spokesman John Kirby confirmed Tuesday that Biden will travel to Japan for the G-7 summit but said the administration was "reevaluating the rest of the trip."
"He can travel overseas and manage our foreign policy and our defense policy and look after our national security commitments in an important region like the Indo-Pacific and also work with congressional leaders to do the right thing, raise the debt ceiling, avoid default so the United States credibility here at home and overseas is preserved," Kirby said.
MORE: Congressional Budget Office warns of US debt default 'in first two weeks of June'
Negotiations on the debt ceiling resumed at 3 p.m. Tuesday when Biden, McCarthy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell met at the White House
"We don't have that much time left. We want to make sure we avoid a default but they've got to get serious and they haven't been serious about any of these negotiations," McCarthy told ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott on Tuesday ahead of the meeting.
Asked about Biden's international trip, McCarthy said he believes "the American public wants to have an American president focused on American problems and solutions."
President Joe Biden hosts debt limit talks with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other Congressional leaders in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, May 9, 2023.Kevin Lamarque/Reuters, FILE
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, on Tuesday called on Biden to cancel his trip altogether.
"He can't fly halfway around the globe just as negotiations are gaining momentum," Cornyn said.
Biden's schedule isn't the only issue as the House is set to be out of town starting May 26 and will return on June 5, while the Senate will be away from May 22 to May 29, according to tentative schedules.
Adding pressure ahead of Tuesday's debt ceiling summit, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the economic shock that would result from an unprecedented default "could lead to a recession."
"It's essential Congress act as soon as possible," she said as she delivered remarks in downtown Washington, stating they're already seeing "the impacts of brinkmanship" and "default would generate an economic catastrophe."
Yellen has repeatedly warned the U.S. could default in early June, possibly as soon as June 1, though the exact date remains uncertain.
Yellen wrote Monday in a letter to McCarthy the Treasury was already seeing adverse impacts on the economy as negotiations continue — including increased borrowing costs — and more harm could come if lawmakers wait until the final hour to strike a deal.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a news conference at the Treasury Department in Washington, April 11, 2023.Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters, FILE
Schumer also laid out possible consequences of a default.
"If you want to own a home, default would take that dream and run it through the shredder. If you want to protect your 401(k), default would rob you of your livelihood," Schumer said.
MORE: US debt limit: How a default could affect you
The so-called "Big Five" last met a week ago to talk debt ceiling, a meeting that ended with no movement toward a deal. Staff-level conversations have continued since then between the administration and congressional leaders.
Biden and Democrats have insisted Republicans take default off the table, and separate the debt ceiling from the 2024 budget. Republicans, on the other hand, have said they've done their job by passing the Limit, Save, Grow Act last month to raise the debt ceiling and enact deep spending cuts.
Possible areas of agreement on budget talks include clawing back billions of dollars in unspent COVID-19 relief and reforming the permitting process for energy projects, sources familiar with the talks told ABC News.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden, meet with other lawmakers in the Oval Office of the White House, May 09, 2023 in Washington, DC.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images, FILE
Schumer said Tuesday the fiscal talks "are separate but simultaneous to our responsibility to avoid default."
"Democrats will not use the threat of default to get what we want," Schumer said on the Senate floor. "Nobody should use default as a hostage."
McConnell, meanwhile, said it's up to Biden to "pretend the last election didn't happen or sit down with the speaker and deal responsibly with out nation's test."
"Time is of the essence, of the essence. So for the second time, i'll be glad to sit in at the white house to support speaker McCarthy and to urge President Biden to start operating in reality," McConnell continued.
MORE: All the debt ceiling options, explained, if Biden and McCarthy don't reach a deal
Biden said over the weekend he remained "optimistic" both sides be able to come to a solution.
"I really believe there is a desire on their part as well as ours to reach an agreement" he said during a bike ride in Delaware. "I think we'll be able to do it."
But McCarthy on Monday downplayed any signs of progress, telling ABC News both sides were "nowhere near coming to a conclusion."
"I don't think we're in a good place," McCarthy later said during a pro-police press conference. "I know we're not."
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
