Bank failures deepen debt ceiling stalemate on Capitol Hill as the clock ticks
WASHINGTON — Congress is making no progress on how to avert a debt ceiling crisis, and the recent collapses of some banks are deepening the stalemate. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., met Feb. 1 to discuss the debt limit, but they haven’t met since then. McCarthy wants Biden to accede to spending cuts as a condition for raising the debt ceiling. Biden maintains that paying the country’s bills is nonnegotiable and is demanding that McCarthy first specify what spending he wants to cut, which he hasn’t done. And the recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, which have created jitters in the financial sector, have only entrenched the conflicting views between the parties. Republicans say the bank failures were caused by high inflation and rising interest rates, describing the economic landscape as a validation of their demands for spending cuts in the debt ceiling debate. How UBS’s acquisition of Credit Suisse is affecting bank shares March ...