Biden calls on GOP to move from ‘extreme positions’ in debt talks

President Biden on Sunday called on Republican lawmakers to compromise in ongoing budget and debt ceiling talks, warning that their current position is too extreme and cannot pass a narrowly divided Congress.

Biden spoke to reporters from Hiroshima, Japan where he has been attending the Group of Seven (G7) Summit, and warned that he would not accept Republicans’ existing proposals as the U.S. inches closer to the risk of default.

“Now it’s time for the other side to move from their extreme positions, because much of what they’ve already proposed is simply, quite frankly, unacceptable,” Biden said in opening remarks at a press conference.

“I’m not going to agree to a deal that protects wealth tax cheats and crypto traders while putting food assistance at risk for nearly 1 million Americans,” Biden continued. “It is time for Republicans to accept that there is no bipartisan deal to be made solely on their partisan terms. They have to move as well. All four congressional leaders agree with me that default is not an option. And I expect each of these leaders to live up to that commitment.”

Biden is scheduled to talk with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on the phone during the president’s plane ride back to Washington, D.C., on Sunday.

The pending phone call between the two leaders comes as the White House and McCarthy’s team spent much of Saturday trading criticisms over who was to blame for a breakdown in negotiations on spending talks and raising the debt ceiling. Negotiators appointed by Biden and McCarthy had been working in recent days to hammer out an agreement.

The Treasury Department has warned the U.S. could default as early as June 1 if Congress does not act to raise the debt ceiling.

Biden on Sunday said he is willing to cut spending, which Republicans have said should be a condition of any effort to raise the debt ceiling, but he underscored that reforming the tax system to bring in more revenue from the wealthiest Americans and corporations should also be under consideration.

“They just said revenue is off the table. Revenue is not off the table,” Biden said. “That’s what we continue to have a significant disagreement on, on the revenue side.”

The White House has in recent days repeatedly emphasized that any final agreement must be bipartisan, noting it has to pass the GOP-controlled House and the Democrat-controlled Senate.