Debt cut talks between the White House and House Republicans stalled, started and stopped again heading into a weekend where President Biden and world leaders watched from afar, hoping that high-stakes negotiations would make progress in preventing a potentially catastrophic federal default.

As a sign of a renewed negotiating session, food was brought to the Capitol negotiating room on Saturday morning, only to be taken away hours later. According to a person familiar with the state of talks who was not authorized to discuss the situation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, there was likely no meeting on Saturday.

The Biden administration reaches a deal with Republicans led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-

California Bakkersveld

). The parties face a June 1 deadline to raise their borrowing limit, now at $31 trillion, so the government can continue to pay the country’s bills. Republicans are demanding big cuts that the Democrats are against.

Had negotiations

came come

to an abrupt halt on Friday morning when McCarthy said it was time to suspend talks. Then the teams met again in the evening, only to quickly end it for the night.

Biden, who attended a meeting of world leaders in Japan, tried to reassure them on Saturday that the United States would not default, a scenario that would shake the global economy. He said he felt there was progress in the talks.

The first encounters were not so progressive, the second was, the third was, he said. The president said he believes he can “avoid a default and get something decent done.

Negotiators for McCarthy said after Friday night’s session they were unsure about next steps.

We got back together, had a very, very candid discussion, talking about where we are, talking about where things should be, which is reasonably acceptable,” said Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.).

Rep. Patrick McHenry (RN.C.) was asked

as if

he was confident that an agreement on budget issues could be reached with the White House. Hey replied, no.

As the White House team left the overnight session, Biden adviser Steve Ricchetti, who is leading talks for Democrats, said he was hopeful. We will continue to work, he said.

McCarthy had said the solution to the stalemate is easy if only Biden’s team would agree to some of the cuts the Republicans are demanding. The biggest impasse was over the fiscal year 2024 budget, according to a person who knew about the talks and granted anonymity to discuss them. Democrats argue that the hefty cuts that Republicans have tabled could potentially harm Americans, and they are urging Republicans to agree to tax increases for the wealthy, in addition to spending cuts, to close the deficit.

Wall Street moved lower as negotiations came to a sudden halt. Experts have warned that even the threat of debt defaults

would

could trigger a recession.

Republicans argue that the country’s deficit spending needs to be brought under control, with the goal of reducing spending to 2022 fiscal levels and limiting future growth. But Biden’s team counters that the limits proposed by Republicans in their bill passed by the House would amount to a 30% cut in some programs like Defense and Veterans Spares, according to a memo from the Office of Management and Budget .

Any deal would need the support of both Republicans and Democrats to gain approval in a divided Congress and pass into law. Negotiators are looking at a narrower budget cap of a few years, rather than the 10-year caps Republicans initially wanted, and are reclaiming some $30 billion in unused COVID-19 funds.

Policy changes are still under discussion, including a framework for allowing reforms to accelerate energy project development, as well as the Republican push to impose job requirements on government aid recipients, which Biden was open to, but the Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York has said it was a “nonstarter.”

McCarthy is under pressure from his far-right wing to strike the strongest possible deal for the Republicans, and risks a threat to his leadership as speaker if he fails. It is unlikely that many Republicans in the House will accept a deal with the White House.

Biden has been increasingly pushed back by Democrats, particularly progressives, who argue that the cuts will fall too heavily on domestic programs Americans rely on.

__Associated Press writers Zeke Miller and Josh Boak in Hiroshima, Japan, and AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.