Biden, McCarthy to talk debt ceiling, spending with 10 days left to reach deal or risk default
President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet Monday afternoon in the Oval Office to directly negotiate with just 10 days to reach a debt ceiling and spending deal or risk an unprecedented default.
In the meantime, White House negotiators arrived back on Capitol Hill early Monday and met for nearly three hours with Republican mediators.
Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., told ABC News there are currently no additional meetings on Capitol Hill scheduled for the day, but said he wanted talks this week to be productive.
"I don't think there's any interest in us delaying these tough conversations," McHenry said, declining to discuss specifics of where the talks stand. "And so we want this to be productive. I want this to be a productive week."
Time is running out for a compromise. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Sunday that June 1 is a "hard deadline" for raising the debt limit, and the possibility of making it to mid-June without default is "quite low."
McCarthy continued to criticize Democrats' spending as he entered the Capitol on Monday, declining to say if there had been any movement with the White House.
"The underlying issue here is the Democrats since they took the majority have been addicted to spending and that's going to stop, we're going to spend less than we spent last year," McCarthy said.
MORE: Biden and McCarthy to meet on Monday to negotiate directly on debt ceiling
And while McCarthy said he's looking forward to his meeting with the president at the White House at 5:30 p.m., he also took the opportunity to slam Biden.
"Managing a crisis in the last deadline is the worst way to handle this. That's why Republicans took action," he said.
Biden and McCarthy spoke on Sunday after negotiations stalled over the weekend, primarily over the issue of spending and the length of budget caps.
Biden said the call "went well" and McCarthy labelled it a "productive" conversation but emphasized there was "no agreement."
MORE: Key sticking points, possible areas of compromise in the debt ceiling showdown
ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott reported Republicans rejected an offer from the White House that offered some cuts to military and domestic spending, including funds related to housing, education and scientific research.
Biden's call for tax increases to also be included in a deal to raise the debt ceiling has also received GOP pushback. Rep. Jodey Arrington, chairman of the House Budget Committee, told ABC's "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz on Sunday tax increases were "not on the table for discussion."
A looming concern as negotiations continue is whether McCarthy, if a bipartisan deal is reached, will have the votes to pass it in the House.
The House Freedom Caucus, which boasts dozens of Republican hardliners, called for talks with the Biden administration to stop and instead for the focus to be on getting the Limit, Save, Grow Act through the Senate -- a bill that would deeply cut spending in exchange a one-year debt limit increase deemed a nonstarter by Democrats.
Their opposition means McCarthy would need a substantial amount of Democratic support to pass a debt limit deal. Several progressives have warned of pushback if Biden concedes too much ground to Republicans, and are calling for him to use the 14th Amendment to act unilaterally on the issue.
MORE: McCarthy praises debt limit negotiators, but GOP hardliners say talks should stop
McCarthy had previously said a deal would be needed in principle by this past weekend to clear a bill and send it to Biden's desk by June 1.
When asked by ABC's Elizabeth Schulze on Sunday when his drop-dead date to begin moving legislation on the floor would be, McCarthy declined to get into specifics but said he still believes Congress will ultimately be able to move legislation forward.
-ABC News' Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.
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