US

McCarthy signals impasse in White House debt talks

Chief negotiator suggests two sides have reached a standoff

Kevin McCarthy, White House speaker. Picture: Getty

Speaker Kevin McCarthy left the US Capitol late Tuesday afternoon saying the two parties had yet to reach a deal to avert a first-ever US default, and a top lieutenant said there are no more meetings planned.

Republican Representative Garret Graves, one of McCarthy’s chief negotiators, suggested just hours after a two-hour meeting in the Capitol with his White House counterparts that the two sides were at a standoff.

“Bottom line is that we’re going ...