First raise the debt limit. Then we can talk about spending, the White House insists

The White House is standing firm on its insistence that raising the debt limit be kept separate from talks about federal spending, President Biden’s chief of staff Jeff Zients said in an interview.

Zients made his comments after Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy released a legislative framework that would raise the debt limit for a year while cutting spending to 2022 levels.

McCarthy urged Biden to negotiate to avoid defaulting on the debt — something that is expected to happen in early summer unless Congress raises the limit. The impacts of a default would send shockwaves through the economy.