Sen. Manchin, Speaker McCarthy Meet to Discuss Debt Limit

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., met with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., on Wednesday to negotiate legislation to raise the debt limit.

Manchin reportedly urged McCarthy to enter into negotiations with President Joe Biden on legislation that would raise the debt limit, according to The Hill, which quotes an unnamed source describing the get-together as "a good meeting," but noted that "no commitments" were made.

"We have to negotiate. This is the democracy that we have. We have a two-party system, if you will, and we should be able to talk and find out what our differences are. And if they are irreconcilable, then you have to move on from there and let people make their decisions," Manchin said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."  

Manchin expressed opposition to cutting benefit programs, saying, "Take that off the board right now and look at ways that we have wasteful spending that we can be held accountable and responsible." 

Manchin also said that he respectfully disagreed with Senate Democrat Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who said Democrats should not negotiate with the GOP on the debt limit.

"If you've been here more than 15 minutes, you know what's going to happen. We'll be lurching from one deadline to the next," Durbin told reporters Monday. "It will devastate the credibility of our economy, something that's unacceptable."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said this week that he believes the debt ceiling issue will be taken care of "sometime in the first half 2023."

"In the end, I think the important thing to remember is that America must never default on its debt," McConnell. "It never has and never will."

• McConnell: Debt Limit Solution Must Come From Biden, McCarthy
• Bipartisan Lawmakers Preparing Plan to Avert Debt-Ceiling Crisis