Biden, Republican leader clash -- with US economy at stake
President Joe Biden and the new Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, face off Wednesday at the White House to discuss the US debt standoff -- but so far apart they can't even agree on how to describe their get-together.. - Budget brass tacks - The White House says it won't allow the current debt ceiling to be part of any negotiation on future government spending because that $31.4 trillion is money already agreed to by Congress.