THE US President Joe Biden appeared confident today that “there will be no stoppage of payments”, while continuing the negotiations between Republicans and Democrats and time is running out to find a solution to the issue of raising the debt limit.

“There will be no default,” Biden assured, clarifying that he had several “productive” discussions with Republican Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the House of Representatives. The negotiators of the two sides are continuing their talks, he added.

According to Biden, the negotiations are about the budget, not the stoppage of payments. He said he would not agree to budget cuts for police, teachers, border guards or to increase waiting times for welfare payments.

For his part, Garrett Graves, the chief Republican negotiator, admitted that there has been “little progress”, but warned that there is still “a lot of work left”. He also commented that it would be “difficult” to reach an agreement today on raising the debt limit.

Earlier, Republican Rep. Kevin Hearn told Reuters a deal was likely by tomorrow afternoon.

General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a news conference before President Biden’s remarks that a default would seriously harm US national security, adversely affect military readiness and morale. of the soldiers. “I think there’s no doubt that it would have a very significant, negative impact on the readiness, morale, and capabilities of the United States armed forces if we defaulted and didn’t get the debt ceiling raised,” he emphasized.

The Treasury Department is warning that it could face a lack of funds to cover spending even as early as June 1, which would trigger a catastrophic default if Congress does not reach a deal. Economists estimate that such a default would be catastrophic, shaking markets worldwide, pushing up borrowing costs and triggering a deep recession with very high unemployment in the US.