McCarthy after Biden meeting: 'We set the stage' for further conversation on debt limit

Following the meeting at the White House with top congressional leaders, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Tuesday that negotiators have "set the stage" for further conversation on the debt limit.

He noted that there are 15 days left to reach an agreement to raise the debt limit and curb federal spending.

"We've got a lot of work to do in a short amount of time," he said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he's prepared to deliver as many GOP votes as possible for whatever deal President Biden and Speaker McCarthy reach. 

McCarthy said it's possible for negotiators to reach an agreement before the end of this week.

He said the "structure" of the negotiations have "improved" because Biden has changed the scope of the talks. He said Biden decided to appoint a lead negotiator to represent him in the discussions with congressional leadership staff. 

McCarthy told reporters he would like negotiators to meet right away to start hashing out the details of an agreement. 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer described the meeting as "productive." He said Democrats emphasized in the meeting that whatever bill passes should be bipartisan. He said McCarthy agreed.