President Joe Biden and top congressional leaders opened their second meeting Tuesday in talks over raising the nation's debt limit. Biden met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Unlike last week's meeting, Vice President Kamala Harris was participating in Tuesday's session. “We’re just getting started," Biden said in brief remarks to reporters ahead of the meeting, being held in the Oval Office. Biden has remained optimistic on the talks, while McCarthy has said publicly that the negotiators have made little progress ahead of a June 1 deadline, which is when the Treasury Department says the U.S. could begin defaulting on its debts. Meanwhile, AP sources confirm that Biden has canceled his trip to Papua New Guinea, Australia to focus on the debt limit talks. He still plans to attend G-7 in Japan.
WASHINGTON — Debt-limit talks shifted into an encouraging new phase Tuesday as President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy named top emissaries to negotiate a deal to avert an unprecedented national default. Biden cut short an upcoming overseas trip in hopes of closing an agreement before a June 1 deadline.
