Lawmakers return to Capitol Hill to discuss final details of debt limit bill

Lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill on Saturday to continue to work on final details of a debt limit bill just nine days before the deadline suggested by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. 

The top negotiators for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Reps. Garret Graves (R-La.) and Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), returned to the Capitol Saturday morning after reportedly working well past midnight Friday night. 

They could possibly have a finalized deal by Saturday afternoon, according to reports.

“These are tough things, and this is not how I anticipated the final hours, days would go,” McHenry said, according to the Washington Examiner. “We've had a long list for a long time. What I didn't anticipate is we'd have a very short list for a very long time.”

The White House said earlier this week that it has to negotiate with Congress and find a compromise. The Democrats for months called for a "clean" debt ceiling increase, while the Republicans have called for a plan that would crack down on government spending.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says that he feels "closer to an agreement" in regard to negotiations about the debt ceiling. 

“I feel closer to an agreement now than I did a long time before because I see progress,” McCarthy told reporters on Saturday. “I don't give up. It doesn't matter how many times it takes; you want to make sure you get a deal worthy of the American people.”

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday revised the deadline for lawmakers to reach a deal, saying they have until June 5 after previously warning that a default could come at the start of June. 

Former President Trump's director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, is worried that the GOP seems to be caving to the Biden administration on debt ceiling negotiations. 

"I’m absolutely amazed at how bad the parameters of the deal are that are emerging," Vought said on C-SPAN on Friday. "It’s basically almost worse than a clean debt limit."