US President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (Photo: The Hill)

Biden said after an hour-long talk with McCarthy that default is off the table and the only way to move forward is in good faith toward a bipartisan agreement, adding that their recent meeting was “productive.”

McCarthy said the two sides will keep talking and work through the night to find common ground, with default less than 10 days away, but he is not willing to accept Biden's plan to cut the deficit by raising taxes on the wealthy and closing tax loopholes for the oil and pharmaceutical industries.