Debt limit progress as Biden, McCarthy name top negotiators to avert national default

By LISA MASCARO and SEUNG MIN KIM
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Debt limit talks have entered an encouraging new phase as President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have tapped top emissaries to negotiate a deal to avert an unprecedented national default. The president also cut his upcoming overseas trip short in hopes of closing out a deal before the end of the month. The fresh set of negotiators means that the scope of the discussions is now largely narrowed to what White House and McCarthy will agree to as part of a deal that would allow lawmakers to raise the debt limit in the coming days. The speaker said after a meeting with Biden and congressional leaders that a deal was “possible” by week’s end.