Republican-led House ditches Washington amid debt ceiling standoff

Lawmakers in the U.S. House are spending the holiday weekend outside he capital as policy makers continue to negotiate a plan to raise the debt ceiling ahead of a supposed June 1 deadline to avert default.

Republican North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry told The Hill on Thursday that lawmakers are "[s]till working through thorny issues, but there’s goodwill on all sides... It’s just tougher issues that remain."

McHenry's relatively relaxed attitude stood in contrast with that of some of his Democratic colleagues, including Pennsylvania Rep. Susan Wild, who questioned why lawmakers were departing the capital in face of a potential debt default.

"It’s just the weirdest thing to be going home in the middle of an impending disaster," she told the outlet.

The nation hit its $31.38 trillion spending limit in January, prompting Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to implement "extraordinary measures" to pay the government's bills. She has repeatedly warned that lawmakers must reach a deal to raise the debt ceiling by June or risk a default on the nation's debt, though Republicans have increasingly questioned the firmness of that deadline.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden have had multiple meetings in pursuit of a compromise plan and are united in their position that the nation will not default, though that agreement has not given way to any tangible resolution thus far.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.