Debt ceiling explained: Why it’s a struggle in Washington and how the impasse could end

The U.S. Capitol is seen in Washington, Sunday, May 21, 2023. President Joe Biden planned on Sunday to speak directly with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, hoping to salvage talks to raise the debt limit that have stalled in recent days while he was abroad at the Group of Seven summit. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are to meet face to face on Monday after a weekend of on again, off again negotiations over raising the nation’s debt ceiling. Their meeting comes mere days before the government could reach a “hard deadline” and run out of cash to pay its bills. The two sides are working to reach a budget compromise before June 1. McCarthy and Republicans are insisting on spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt limit; Biden has come to the negotiating table after balking for months but says the GOP lawmakers will have to back off their “extreme positions.”