Watch as Kevin McCarthy provides update on debt crisis as ceiling deadline looms

Watch as Kevin McCarthy holds a news briefing in the Capitol to speak on the US debt crisis.

Earlier this week, Joe Biden and the House Republican speaker met to discuss the debt ceiling, after the two leaders held a phone call on Sunday (21 May) as the president flew back to Washington.

However, the pair are yet to reach a deal which would prevent the Republican Party from causing the US to default.

If the Republican-led House refuses to raise the US debt ceiling – a limit on how much debt the country’s government can get into – the country will not be able to pay what it owes.

This would lead to an immediate shutdown of large swathes of the US economy and spark a major devaluation of both the dollar and US treasuries, which would send disastrous ripples through global markets.

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