McCarthy's Republicans push debt ceiling talks to brink, lawmakers leaving town for weekend

House Republicans are pushing debt ceiling talks to the brink. As they prepare to leave town Thursday for a long Memorial Day recess, it's a display of risky political bravado. They're just days out from a potentially devastating debt default if Congress fails to act to raise the borrowing limit. The fallout could hurl the global economy into chaos. A defiant House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the debt ceiling standoff was “not my fault” as Republicans try to reach a budget-slashing deal with President Joe Biden. But it’s clear the Republican speaker leading a Trump-aligned party whose hard-right flank lifted him to power is now staring down a potential crisis.