McCarthy hopeful Biden will reach agreement ahead of debt limit talks

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Sunday that he is meeting with President Biden this week to discuss the debt limit and is optimistic that the pair will strike an agreement.

Why it matters: The meeting comes as McCarthy wants to fulfill his promises to GOP hardliners and make budget cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. Biden has so far maintained he will not make concessions on spending cuts.

Driving the news: "His staff tries to say something different, but I think the president is going to be willing to make an agreement together," McCarthy on CBS News' "Face the Nation."

• McCarthy said that he is planning to meet with Biden on Wednesday.
• The House speaker added that cuts to Social Security and Medicare should be taken "off the table."
• "I want to find a reasonable and responsible way that we can lift the debt ceiling but take control of this runaway spending," McCarthy said.

Zoom out: Biden and McCarthy had both previously indicated that they would meet to discuss the debt limit after the U.S. Treasury reached its borrowing limit.

• GOP hardliners previously told Axios that they expected McCarthy to hold firm on his commitments to force spending cuts.

Go deeper ... Yellen warns of debt ceiling "catastrophe" for U.S. and beyond