McCarthy says debt ceiling deal possible by end of week as Biden cuts short upcoming foreign trip

President Joe Biden and congressional Republicans are still far from resolving the looming U.S. default crisis, but a deal is still possible by the end of the week, GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy declared after an Oval Office meeting Tuesday with Biden and other Democratic leaders.

Meanwhile, Biden is cutting short a big, upcoming foreign trip because of the urgency of the talks. He will still attend a Group of Seven summit in Japan this week but will then hurry home rather than going to Australia and Papua New Guinea as planned.

For all the talk of a dire debt-limit outcome, there was overriding agreement after the White House meeting that the first default in U.S. history must be averted.

“Number one, we know we’re not going to default,” said Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell. But he added: “We’re running out of time.”