US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks to reporters after arriving at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on May 23, 2023. A top US Republican and President Joe Biden on May 22, 2023 both said their first one-on-one talks in months to avert a calamitous debt default were "productive," but that disagreements were still blocking any potential deal. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)