With a potential federal default just over a week away, Chairman Kevin McCarthy renewed his call Wednesday for President Biden and congressional Democrats to agree to spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt limit and allowing the Treasury Department to avoid late payments.

“You have to spend less than you did last year,” McCarthy said at a news conference on Capitol Hill as the Biden administration and Republican negotiators met at the White House. “That’s not that hard to do. But in Washington, in some ways that’s a problem.”

The administration has tried to hold firm against the cuts and instead push for a freeze on current spending levels, but McCarthy has made reductions in domestic programs a central demand in the negotiations. With Republicans pressing against cuts to defense or veterans programs, the brunt of the cuts would hit social programs favored by Democrats.

Despite a series of regular meetings, negotiators have reported little progress on the substance of any deal. Even so, McCarthy continued to express hope that a deal could be reached before the June 1 deadline.

“I think we can make progress today,” he told reporters on Capitol Hill. “I wish we could”.

Right-wing Republicans have vowed to oppose any compromises that stray from cuts that were part of his debt-limit bill, which passed last month along partisan lines, so McCarthy will likely need a substantial number of Democratic votes to pass a law. agreement. But congressional Democrats are resisting cuts to the general budget.

The House is scheduled to begin a weeklong Memorial Day recess on Friday, and McCarthy will need to decide whether to keep members in Washington or send them home and then call them back if a deal can be reached. He has pledged to give lawmakers 72 hours to review any plans, meaning consideration of any deal appears to be delayed next week.

Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen has repeatedly warned that the government could exhaust its ability to meet all its obligations before June 1.