Biden to meet with Democratic leaders as debt showdown looms
By LISA MASCARO and SEUNG MIN KIM
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will host the Democratic congressional leaders at the White House. The Tuesday afternoon meeting is the first as the Democrats face a new era of divided government in Washington. They are staring down a debt ceiling crisis, the Russian war in Ukraine and their own Democratic Party priorities running up against a new House Republican majority eager for confrontation. Ahead of the meeting, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats are united in working to raise the debt ceiling, fending off Republican demands for spending cuts. Republicans are happy to leave negotiations to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy but he has not yet been invited to met with Biden.