McCarthy Signals Debt Deal Optimism as US Put on Credit Watch

  • Fitch places US on credit watch amid tumultuous debt talks
  • McCarthy says he ‘firmly’ believes a deal will avert default
Speaker McCarthy Says There's Still Time to Get a Deal Done
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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s optimism that White House and Republican negotiators would reach a deal in time to avert a potentially catastrophic default didn’t mollify analysts as the US was put on a sovereign ratings watch.

The California lawmaker said Wednesday after a four-hour meeting between his and President Joe Biden’s hand-picked negotiators that a deal was possible before June — the date by which Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned the US could run out of money to pay its bills.