Trump cites very good talks with Congress on debt ceiling

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Monday that talks with Democrats and Republicans on raising the debt ceiling were going well and that it was important to take care of the military in any spending legislation.

Trump spoke to reporters at the White House as a source close to the matter said White House negotiators were getting close to a deal to extend the Treasury Department's borrowing authority and enact spending caps on a range of federal programs.

"We're having very good talks with the speaker of the House, with Nancy Pelosi. We're having very good talks with Chuck Schumer and, of course, with Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy," Trump said, referring to congressional leaders.

"We are, I think, doing very well on debt, if you look at debt limit, however you want to define that, but we're doing very well on that. And I think we're doing pretty well on a budget," Trump added.

A source told Reuters the negotiators were aiming to set government spending caps for fiscal year 2020, which begins Oct. 1, and fiscal year 2021 that would include $75 billion in "offsets" savings. Details on the spending cuts were not immediately available.