U.S. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached an "agreement in principle" to limit federal spending and resolve the looming debt crisis ahead of a June 5 deadline, McCarthy said late Saturday. A deal would avert a catastrophic U.S. default.
The Democratic president and Republican speaker reached the agreement after the two spoke earlier Saturday evening by phone, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.
McCarthy, of California, had gathered top allies behind closed doors at the Capitol as negotiators pushed for a deal that would raise the nation's borrowing limit and avoid a first-ever default on the federal debt, while also making spending cuts that House Republicans are demanding.
Biden spoke earlier in the day with Democratic leaders in Congress to discuss the status of the talks, according to three people familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
"After [Biden] wasted time and refused to negotiate for months, we've come to an agreement in principle that is worthy of the American people," McCarthy said on Twitter.
Americans and the world were uneasily watching the negotiating brinkmanship that could throw the U.S. economy into chaos and sap world confidence in the nation's leadership. House negotiators left the Capitol at 2 a.m. the night before, only to return hours later.
Failure to lift the borrowing limit, now $31 trillion, to pay the nation's incurred bills, would send shock waves through the U.S. and global economy.
