Debt ceiling talks teeter on the brink, as lawmakers leave town for weekend without a deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans pushed debt ceiling talks to the brink Thursday, displaying risky political bravado in leaving town for the holiday weekend just days before the U.S. could face an unprecedented default hurling the global economy into chaos.

At the Capitol, Speaker Kevin McCarthy said “every hour matters” in talks with President Joe Biden’s team as they try to work out a budget agreement. Republican are demanding spending cuts the Democrats oppose as their price for raising the legal debt limit.

“We’ve been taking to the White House all day,” McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters as he left the Capitol for the evening, with his top negotiators soon to follow. “We’re working hard to make it happen.”

In remarks at the White House, Biden said, “It’s about competing versions of America.” Yet both men expressed optimism that the gulf between their positions could be bridged.

https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-biden-mccarthy-default-7df95c593c8f4c94662361a93831a42c