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US debt ceiling deal reached 'in principle': McCarthy

STORY: "I just got off the phone with the President. I talked to him twice today. And after weeks of negotiations, we have come to an agreement in principle," McCarthy told reporters on Capitol Hill.

The deal would raise the debt limit for two years while capping spending over that time, and includes some extra work requirements for programs for the poor.

Biden and McCarthy held a 90-minute phone call earlier on Saturday evening to discuss the deal.

"We still have more work to do tonight to finish the writing of it," McCarthy said, adding that he expects to finish writing the bill and speaking to Biden again on Sunday, before having a vote on the deal on Wednesday.

The deal will avert an economically destabilizing default, so long as they succeed in passing it through the narrowly divided Congress before the Treasury Department runs short of money to cover all its obligations, which it warned Friday will occur if the debt ceiling is not raised by June 5.