With two days to spare, the president signed the debt ceiling deal that protects any attempts to shut down the government for at least two years.
The bipartisan vote gave the deal final approval with time to spare.
In rollercoaster mishmash of partisanship that had started and stopped, a Monday morning meeting at the White House may be a last salvage attempt.
“It’s time for Republicans to accept that there is no bipartisan deal to be made solely, solely, on their partisan terms,” Biden said at a news conference. “Now it’s time for the other side to move from their extreme position.”
The optimism of Friday faded overnight as partisanship again takes over the debate on debt limits and possible default.
As usual the talks keep getting closer and closer to the time for America to default, a tragic consequence that has never happened –yet.
“I don’t see how we get there at this point. There’s no process set up, there’s no dialogue, there’s no discussion,” says Rep Patrick McHenry, R-SC. “I’m worried.” A little late for that.
The meeting did not expect to reach any agreements and both said they plan to meet again to try and reach an agreement well before the debt ceiling deadline.
With potential default on the horizon, a meeting between the President and the Speaker will be their first chance to show if they can truly negotiate a settlement.
Congress has a sordid reputation for not learning tough lessons from its history. Another repeat coming?