McCarthy says Congress will meet June 5 debt ceiling deadline

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Saturday that Congress will meet the deadline to raise the debt ceiling, acknowledging that no deal has been made but vowing an agreement will be reached in time to prevent a government default.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen raised the stakes in the marathon negotiations on Friday, when she provided the first hard deadline for when the government will be unable to pay down all of its obligations: June 5. 

Asked if Congress can meet that deadline, McCarthy didn’t hesitate. 

“Yes,” he said shortly after arriving at the Capitol Saturday morning for another round of talks. 

McCarthy vowed that he’ll stick with the 72-hour rule — providing lawmakers a full three days to read the text of the legislation before they’re asked to vote on it — and said he’s been in talks with Senate leaders about how much time they’ll need to ensure the June 5 deadline is met.

“Everybody won’t like what is the end of the agreement … on both sides,” he said. “But … at the end of the day I think people should see what that product is before people vote on it.” 

If a deal is reached Saturday, that would set the stage for a House vote on Tuesday, he said. 

McCarthy declined to name the barriers that remain as he and his deputies haggle with White House negotiators over the last outstanding disagreements. But he said Republicans have not dropped their demand for permitting reform, designed to eliminate regulatory hurdles to energy infrastructure projects, which Democrats have opposed for fear that it would degrade the environment at the expense of poor communities. 

“We did make progress, we worked well into early this morning. Some things we just have to finish out,” he said. 

McCarthy also confirmed that Republicans have been in discussions with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and moderate Democrats on particular issues — a dynamic that is sure to infuriate liberals, some of whom will be needed to get any deal through the House.

“I know we talk to the White House often, but there are Democrats, from Joe Manchin, from Sinema, from Josh Gottheimer, and others. We gather ideas from them, too, when we’re trying to solve the problem,” McCarthy said. “There are Democrats that are policy experts in certain areas that we’re dealing with, we want to get their [perspective], too.”

The Speaker outlined the rollout of any deal, saying he would make a vague announcement but withhold the details of any agreement to allow lawmakers to read the legislation before the press and the public do. 

“I think it’s disrespectful that they learn about it someplace else,” he said. 

McCarthy said the package won’t be a thousand-page colossus, predicting it would weigh in at “150 pages or less.” 

“It will not be a long bill,” he said.  

Whatever deal emerges is sure to be opposed by large members of both parties: conservatives who think it doesn’t cut deeply enough and liberals who think it cuts too much. McCarthy acknowledged those dynamics, but said he’s not worried it won’t have the bipartisan support to pass. 

“If your idea is you’re going to put a bill on the floor but you don’t want anybody to read it, and you want it to pass because you’re afraid they won’t like it, it’s probably not a good product,” he said. “I’m not fearful of what’s in this bill.”

— Updated at 12:05 p.m.