Democratic and Republican staff negotiators spent the weekend and a good part of Monday trying to get on the same page about what’s on the table in debt limit and budget talks ahead of a high-stakes Tuesday meeting at the White House.
The consensus among people familiar with the talks is that the two parties remain far apart, so much so that it wasn’t clear how much progress President Joe Biden and congressional leaders would be able to make at their meeting.
One issue is logistical: Biden is scheduled to leave Wednesday for G-7 meetings in Japan and subsequent stops that will keep him away from Washington for a week.
