McCarthy Sees No Progress on Debt Limit After Talks With Biden

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said there was no progress in efforts to avert a first-ever US default during an hour-long meeting with President Joe Biden and other congressional leaders. 

“I didn’t see any new movement,” McCarthy told reporters Tuesday afternoon at the White House following his first meeting with Biden on the debt ceiling since Feb. 1. He said they would meet again on Friday. 

The Oval Office meeting came hours after both made clear they aren’t interested in a short-term debt-limit extension. Markets have shown early signs of strain as the deadline nears, and Tuesday’s continued stalemate threatens to have reverberating effects. 

Even as McCarthy lamented what he saw as a lack of progress, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell sought to assure investors that there would be agreement.