Negotiations on the US debt ceiling have reached a deadlock again. (Source: AFP)

Speaking shortly after his handpicked negotiators abruptly walked out of a meeting with White House officials, House Speaker McCarthy said the House needed action from the White House and when it did not see any action, negotiations had to be halted.

Rep. Garret Graves, who was leading the House Republican negotiations, left the meeting, saying the talks were “not productive.”

Meanwhile, a White House official admitted that there were “real differences” and “negotiations will be difficult.”

Meanwhile, on May 20, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that President Joe Biden remains confident in the face of “real disagreements” with the Republican Party in the process of negotiating to raise the US government's debt ceiling.

Speaking in Hiroshima, Japan, where President Biden is attending the G7 Summit, Ms. Jean-Pierre affirmed that the two sides "continue to have real disagreements," but "the President believes there is still a way forward."