But McCarthy shortly afterward tweeted that he had accepted an invitation to meet.

“I accept your invitation to sit down and discuss a responsible debt ceiling increase to address irresponsible government spending,” he wrote. “I look forward to our meeting.”

The development comes a day after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the U.S. had reached its debt limit and would need to use special measures to avoid a default. Yellen has projected that Congress has until at least June to pass a debt ceiling increase.

Biden officials have insisted that the administration will not negotiate over increasing the debt limit, calling it one of Congress’ basic duties and one that shouldn’t come with any conditions attached. Failing to do so for the first time ever, Democrats and a wide swathe of economists have cautioned, would destroy the nation’s financial credibility and throw the global economy into chaos.

But Republicans have signaled that they plan to force a showdown over the debt ceiling, in a bid to secure a host of deep spending cuts. McCarthy earlier this week urged Biden and Democratic congressional leaders to begin discussions on a potential deal.

On Friday, Biden also said that he would address what he called a “fundamental disagreement” over how to control spending as part of his State of the Union address. The White House has hammered Republicans repeatedly over their suggestions that the government cut funding for Medicare and Social Security as part of a debt ceiling deal.

“Their way to deal with cutting that debt is to cut Social Security, cut Medicaid,” Biden said. “These are the kind of debates that we’re going to have.”