National security adviser: Biden ‘has expressed confidence’ at G7 that US won’t default

by Alex Gangitano - 05/19/23 9:13 PM ET

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks at a press briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, April 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said that while the debt limit talks have been a subject of interest at the Group of Seven (G-7) summit, President Biden has “expressed confidence” to world leaders in avoiding a default.

“It is definitely a subject of interest,” Sullivan told reporters during a Saturday morning press conference in Japan. “Here at the G-7, you know, countries want to have a sense of how these negotiations are going to play out and the president has expressed confidence that he believes that we could drive to an outcome that we do avoid default.”

He noted that Biden is returning to Washington on Sunday, which was announced earlier this week, to resume talks.

“This is not generating alarm or a kind of vibration in the room,” Sullivan added. “Countries are keenly interested in what is a significant story and the president has been able to tell them he believes we can get to a good result here.”

Biden has warned recently that it could be a concern internationally if the U.S. were to default on its debt, arguing ahead of the G-7 that world leaders have been wondering about the looming risk.

The White House officials leading talks while Biden is overseas and Republican negotiators resumed conversations on Friday evening after frustrated GOP negotiators hit pause for much of the day.

Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), the lead GOP negotiator, said the group had a “candid discussion” after a roughly hour and a half meeting.

Earlier on Friday, Republicans left a meeting with White House officials, saying the two sides were too far apart and that the White House is being unreasonable.

Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki earlier on Friday said “all of these world leaders and their teams are watching what’s happening in the United States” in terms of the debt limit, adding that China is “rooting for a default.”

Earlier this month, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said Beijing and Moscow would use a potential default for propaganda purposes through “information operations” as evidence the U.S. political system is chaotic.