House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy said tonight that there should be a “pause” in negotiations with the White House to raise the debt limit.

“Yes, we have a break” McCarthy said, answering a question from reporters on the floor of Congress.

A little earlier, the White House admitted that it has “run into” “real differences” with Republicans and that the discussions are “difficult”.

The Democratic administration and the Republican opposition, who control the House, are racing against time to reach a deal and avoid a default after June 1. If Congress does not raise the US debt limit by then, the country could default on its loans, a potentially devastating possibility for global financial markets.

On Thursday, President Joe Biden and McCarthy appeared optimistic that a deal in principle was possible. Republicans are calling for budget cuts to pass the debt ceiling increase. “I really believed we had reached a point where a way out was in sight” McCarthy said today, adding: “We can’t spend more money next year.”

Earlier, Republican Rep. Garrett Graves, who is participating in the negotiations, said it was time for a “pause” in the talks, which he described as “unproductive” with the White House.

On Wall Street, the morning’s initial optimism dissipated and around the halfway point of the session, the indicators were leaning towards the “red”. The Dow Jones industrial index was down -0.34% around 20:45 (Greece time).