Biden and McCarthy reach debt ceiling deal averting first US default in history

President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reach a last-minute agreement to suspend the debt ceiling until January 2025, avoiding the first US default in the nation's 247-year history. Republicans, led by the House Freedom Caucus, had refused to raise the debt ceiling without deep spending cuts, threatening to force a default that Treasury Secretary Yellen warned could trigger a global financial crisis. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 that emerges caps discretionary spending growth at 1% for two years and includes minor work requirements for food stamps. Biden calls it "a good compromise." Democrats argue Republicans played dangerous brinkmanship with the US economy for ideological gains.