DEBT CLOCK — There are EIGHT DAYS until the earliest possible federal default, according to the Treasury Department’s most recent projection. WHAT’S IN A PHRASE? — By all accounts, Tuesday produced no breakthroughs in the ongoing debt limit talks, with a meeting of top negotiators breaking up after meeting for about two hours with no firm plans to reconvene. The day, however, produced lots of words — with GOP negotiators Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) and Garret Graves (R-La.) speaking with reporters for more than 45(!) minutes. Said Graves, “There are probably 50 categories we’re discussing … and some of them we’ve made substantial progress … and in other ones we’re still really far apart. There’s some areas that I think we’re very close.” Graves, you’ll notice, deftly managed to say something and nothing all at once. So what do those words really mean? Are the talks on the verge of collapse? Or is a deal right around the corner? Well, luckily your Huddle writers have been covering Washington long enough to know that what gets said outside the room doesn’t necessarily reflect what is happening inside of it. We’ve trained our ears, though, to help you translate some of the common parlance of a congressional negotiation:
- "It was a productive meeting." Don't mistake “productive” for progress. We just aren't threatening to assault each other. We’re still a ways apart on the policy.
- "They're being unreasonable.” Time to play the political blame game and rally our side now that talks are getting down to brass tacks.
- "We have no plans to meet again." Now we're playing hardball. Time to escalate and see if the other side will move closer to our position.
- [Silence]. We’re making progress. The rule of thumb is, the less need we see for public posturing, the better.
- "We're on the 10-yard line." We’ve got a deal vaguely in sight, but there are some last-minute details that could still mess it up.
- “We have a framework.” We agree on what we disagree on. Who knows how long it will take to agree on the rest.
- "We have a deal in principle." We’re hashed out the toughest issues, but a lot of details still need to be settled. There’s still plenty of time for backlash to scuttle everything.
- “We have a deal!” We’ve shaken hands, we might even have popped some champagne — but we still need to finish writing the text. And who knows what hiccups that will generate.
- "Nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to." We’re driving a hard bargain to get that last little detail hammered out.
- "Time to vote." The deal is done. Remember that old Capitol Hill truism: When you have the votes, you vote. When you don’t have the votes, you keep talking.
The state of play: Graves and McHenry indicated there is still a significant gap between what they want on government spending and what the White House will accept. The administration has several offers on the table that Republicans have rejected, including a spending freeze which cuts spending by more than $1 trillion over 10 years. Biden is also pushing for a two-year caps deal, in line with previous bipartisan budget agreements, but the GOP is angling for a longer-term accord. Top White House officials Steve Ricchetti and Shalanda Young did not address reporters as they left McCarthy’s office. When asked during the long scrum whether the White House officials are empowered to reach a deal with the Republicans, McHenry said: “No, I think they put severe constraints on really talented people that are in the room and that is not in service of the deal,” adding: “I want a damn deal to be done.” A long way from tipple-rary: Nancy also heard from McHenry on how the negotiations are going between President Joe Biden and McCarthy: “You have two Irish guys that don't drink. That's a different set-up than Tip O'Neill and Ronald Reagan." Another thing to keep in mind: McCarthy is very new to this. Sarah, Olivia and Jordain are out with new reporting this morning explaining how four years in the minority have left McCarthy, and the entire GOP conference, with little practice at monumental bipartisan negotiations. You need to calm down: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters in Kentucky on Tuesday that he’s in communication with McCarthy and remains “optimistic we’ll get an outcome.” Also FWIW, when McCarthy was asked about the last time he spoke to McConnell, McCarthy responded: “Just the other day." Holiday road: McCarthy also said that, depending on where negotiations stand when House members are set to leave Washington on Thursday, he will likely allow members to go back to their home districts for Memorial Day weekend but remain on call for votes. Related read: When really is the X-date? It’s hard to say. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, from Kierra Frazier
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