Biden Says Debt Limit Deal Reached as Lawmakers on Both Sides Express Concerns

President Joe Biden championed the new bipartisan budget agreement to avoid a default on the national debt, saying it “prevents the worst possible crisis.”

The administration and House Republican leaders looked to garner support for a tentative deal to increase the country’s borrowing limit amid ballooning government debt following weeks of intense negotiations.

Following the announcement that both sides reached an “agreement in principle,” the president said the deal eliminates “the threat of catastrophic default off the table” and ensures the nation’s economic recovery moves ahead.

Biden repeated the White House talking point of the agreement being a compromise in a divided government, meaning that “no one gets everything they want.”

“But that’s the responsibility of governing,” he said, adding that it keeps Democrats’ key priorities, such as Social Security and Medicare, intact.

The legislation—the Fiscal Responsibility Act—will now head to both chambers of Congress, where the president has urged lawmakers to pass the agreement.