President Joe Biden spoke Monday with the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, on extending the US national debt and avoiding a default, a source familiar with the negotiations said.
Biden discussed meeting with McCarthy and also spoke with the senior Republican in the Senate, as well as the top leaders in Congress from his own Democratic party, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.
As head of the narrow Republican majority in the House, McCarthy has primary control over US budget issues. However, Biden has made clear he will not accept the speaker's current proposal to allow extending the US debt limit only in exchange for deep spending cuts to programs that the Democrats say are vital for Americans.
The impasse has raised the possibility of Congress and the White House overseeing the first national debt default -- something that would likely trigger a cataclysm in the US and global economies.
In calls Monday, Biden also invited Democratic House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, and Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, the White House said.
