Editor’s note: Morning Money is a free version of POLITICO Pro Financial Services morning newsletter, which is delivered to our s each morning at 5:15 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day’s biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro. NEW YORK — It was a beautiful day in Washington and New York City and it seemed like everyone was in a pretty good mood about where things stand on the debt limit. Anita Dunn, a veteran Democratic operative and one of President Joe Biden’s closest advisers, struck a conciliatory note in front of an audience of Wall Street financiers on Thursday. The onetime SKDK executive told conference goers that — if there’s a deal to be had before the June 1 deadline — “everybody is going to have to give a little.” “The question is: what do you give?” she said. After leaving the stage, Dunn ignored a question about whether concessions on spending cuts could alienate progressive lawmakers. As she made her way to the door of the green room, former Trump communications director and hedge fund executive Anthony Scaramucci — the conference’s host — greeted her outside by joking that he’d be “there for you” should she run for office in 2028. So, to answer Dunn’s question, what’s the White House willing to give? Negotiators are signaling concessions on work requirements that would further restrict access for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families emergency aid program, our Meredith Lee Hill reports. Perhaps that’s why House Speaker Kevin McCarthy sounded optimistic at a press conference earlier in the day, telling reporters he “see[s] a path” to a deal. And McCarthy isn’t the only one who’s feeling bullish that this will get done on time. “What we saw today — which is really helpful — were the comments that Speaker McCarthy made earlier this morning,” Sen. Kyrsten Sinema told your host. “It sends a message to markets — it sends a message to all the folks around the country – that we can get this done.” The Arizona independent has often leveraged her role as a key swing vote to extract meaningful concessions on landmark legislation from Biden and the Democrats with whom she caucuses. Asked what she made of the fiscal cuts that have been floated in negotiations, Sinema said she wasn’t interested in “talking about the particulars.” “The best thing to do is to allow [those talks] to percolate and continue operating forward in good faith,” she said. Sinema’s office gave MM a first look at a bill she has introduced with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) — dubbed the Fiscal State of the Nation Act — to require the U.S. Comptroller General to provide an audited financial statement on federal programs to the House and Senate Budget Committees each year. “I've long said that playing chicken with the full faith and credit of the United States is wrong, and that America has a duty to pay its debts,” she said. One reason she’s dropping the bill now, she said, is because it will instill “fiscal responsibility” in Congress “rather than just waiting for the debt limit for people to freak out.” She also praised two of Biden’s designees in the debt limit fracas, Steve Ricchetti and Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young. “Steve Ricchetti and I have negotiated so many packages together,” Sinema said. “And Shalanda Young? I mean, she's the smartest person in the building, and everyone knows it. She knows appropriations in and out.” IT’S FRIDAY — We hope you have a wonderful, default-free weekend. Send tips, gossip and suggestions to Sam at ssutton@politico.com and Zach at zwarmbrodt@politico.com.
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