Saturday evening, a 90-minute phone call was conducted to discuss the deal, as the 5 June deadline approaches.
According to sources in Washington, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have reached an “agreement in principle” on raising the US debt ceiling.
The tentative agreement would terminate the months-long impasse between the Republican-controlled Congress and the Democratic-controlled White House.
The debt ceiling is currently $31.4trn (£25.4trn), and the new limit has not yet been announced.
On Saturday evening, Mr. Biden and Mr. McCarthy discussed the proposal for 90 minutes before the 5 June deadline.
The speaker tweeted after the conversation, “I just got off the phone with the president.
“After he wasted time and refused to negotiate for months. We’ve reached an agreement worthy of the American people in principle.”
Mr. McCarthy indicated on Capitol Hill that “there is still more work to be done tonight to complete the writing”. And that he expects to complete the writing of the bill on Sunday, followed by a vote on Wednesday.
The agreement would prevent an economically destabilizing default if it can be approved by a narrowly divided Congress before the Treasury Department runs out of money to pay its obligations.
Republicans have advocated for drastic cuts to expenditure and other conditions, including new work requirements for some low-income American benefit programs and the stripping of funds from the Internal Revenue Service, the United States tax agency.
They seek to slow US debt growth, which is currently equal to the country’s yearly economic output.
According to the Reuters news agency, negotiators have agreed to cap non-defense discretionary expenditure at 2023 levels for two years in exchange for an increase in the debt ceiling over a comparable period.
The standoff spooked financial markets, dragging on stocks and forcing the US to pay record-high bond interest rates.
Economists say a default would plunge America into recession, disrupt the global economy, and increase unemployment.
