Biden and Republicans reach agreement on White House debt | world

Republican Congressional Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters on Saturday that he had reached an agreement with Democratic President Joe Biden on raising the federal government’s debt ceiling, with the country at risk of default in just over a week.

The Treasury said on Friday that the government would run out of money to pay all its bills by June 5 without action from Congress.

This year, the debt limit of US$31 trillion (about R$153 trillion) was reached on January 19, and the government has been maneuvering ever since to keep payments up to date.

The deal between Biden and House Speaker McCarthy could be the start of a week-long process to review legislation in a divided Congress.

Hardline Republicans have threatened to block any bill that fails to meet their expectations, which include deep spending cuts.

Republicans sought to dramatically cut government spending over the next ten years to slow the growth of the American debt, which is now equal to the annual output of the economy.

The Republicans control the House of Representatives by a margin of 222-213, and the Democrats have a majority in the Senate, 51-49, which is a very narrow path to pass any deal between the Democratic president and the Republican House speaker.

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