Debt ceiling talks making 'progress' McCarthy says, talks narrow on deal ahead of looming deadline

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks with members of the press from Capitol Hill on May 21, 2023 after participating in a phone call on the debt ceiling with President Joe Biden.

Patrick Semansky / Patrick Semansky

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Friday negotiators “made progress” on an agreement with the White House to raise the debt limit as they race to close out a deal ahead of a looming deadline to avert a potentially catastrophic default.

McCarthy told reporters at the Capitol that there is still more work to do.

The two sides are narrowing on a two-year agreement that would curb federal spending and lift the borrowing limit ahead of a deadline as soon as June 1 when Treasury could run out of money to pay the nation’s bills.