McCarthy says debt ceiling deal possible by the end of the week

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters that his conversation on Tuesday with President Joe Biden and other congressional leaders set the stage for future discussions, just a day after saying he had seen “no progress” leading up to the meeting. Biden said he was optimistic about the discussion’s prospects.

How much time is left to make a deal? The U.S. Treasury Department said the government could begin defaulting on its debt as soon as June 1 if Congress does not raise the government’s borrowing limit. On Tuesday, Biden announced he is canceling visits next week to Papua New Guinea and Australia to give more time for the debt ceiling talks.

Dig deeper: Read John Schweiker Shelton’s column in WORLD Opinions about how the debt ceiling crisis could be resolved by government leaders stepping up to the task.