Biden and McCarthy to reunite in high-stakes Oval Office meeting

Lawmakers likely have until this summer to raise the debt ceiling, which sets a legal maximum on how much the federal government can borrow. The current limit is $31.4 trillion, which the United States has already reached.

The Treasury Department has launched “extraordinary measures” to move the money to allow the government to meet its payment obligations. But those measures could run out by early June, according to Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen, and failure to authorize additional borrowing to meet spending obligations that Congress has already ordered could lead to an unprecedented default that would upend the US and global economies.

Despite the high stakes, expectations for Wednesday’s talks between McCarthy and Biden are low, with both sides appearing to deepen their public messaging ahead of the talks.