As debt ceiling talks progress, Biden and lawmakers are postponing their meeting

May 11, 2023 / 1:54 pm

caption: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-K.Y., and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., leave after meeting with President Biden at the White House on Tuesday. They are canceling a planned meeting for Friday as staffers make progress on debt ceiling talks.

President Biden will not meet with congressional leaders Friday to discuss the debt ceiling as planned, according to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's office.

Biden was set to meet McCarthy, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer at the White House to continue talks on lifting the nation's debt limit, which expires as soon as early June. An earlier meeting this week ended with no resolution.

McCarthy's office said Friday that he, Biden and the others agreed that their staffs should continue to meet.

A source familiar with the meetings told NPR that Biden and the congressional leaders postponed their meeting because did not want interrupt the progress that was being made.

"This is a positive development. Meetings are progressing. Staff is continuing to meet and it wasn't the right moment to bring it back to principals," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private meetings. [Copyright 2023 NPR]

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