Debt ceiling talks between White House, Republicans stall as default looms

A GOP source has told Fox News on Friday that a snag has been reached in debt ceiling talks between Republicans and the White House because “There is too much daylight between the sides.” 

The source said there is a lack of movement between the sides over what Republicans want to cut on the “discretionary” side of the ledger, which is the part of spending Congress controls through the appropriations process each year. 

Democrats are hesitant to cut some of those programs because they are important to their base — but make up a small portion of overall federal spending. 

In the meantime, Republicans are sticking to their position of wanting to increase defense spending, which is the largest portion of overall discretionary spending — accounting for more than half. 

MOST DEMOCRATS SUPPORT DEFICIT REDUCTION AS PART OF DEBT CEILING FIGHT: POLL

“A responsible, bipartisan budget agreement remains possible if both sides negotiate in good faith and recognize that neither side will get everything it wants,” a White House spokesperson told Fox News on Friday. 

The two parties are facing a deadline for a debt ceiling deal of somewhere around June 1, which is when the Treasury Department estimates that the government will no longer be able to pay for current spending obligations without more borrowing.  

Biden and his allies in Congress have said that Congress should raise the debt ceiling immediately, while Republicans have said they can only support this increase if it is paired with spending reductions. 

“Well we’ve got to get movement by the White House and we don’t have any movement yet so, uh, yeah, we’ve got a pause,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters Friday.

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.