US President Joe Biden says progress has been made in talks with top Republican Kevin McCarthy over the US debt ceiling – even as Congress breaks up for a holiday weekend.
The pair aim to reach a deal on raising the government borrowing limit for two years so it can keep paying its bills.
Investors’ fears of the US defaulting on its debts have grown – despite assurances that talks are progressing.
Mr Biden spoke of “several productive conversations” with Mr McCarthy.
During a White House event on Thursday, the president said his staff remained in conversation with the team of Mr McCarthy, the House speaker – and that the two sides were “making progress”.
He added: “I made clear time and again defaulting on our nation debt is not an option.” He said Americans deserved certainty over issues such as social security payments.
The debt ceiling is a spending limit set by Congress which determines how much money the government can borrow – an issue on which Democrats and Republicans disagree.
With no deal yet struck, the Treasury has warned that the US will not have enough money to pay all of its bills as soon as 1 June.
Analysts say there could be severe economic consequences if the US fails to honour its obligations.
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