Biden 'confident' there will be no US debt default

US President Joe Biden says that he is confident the US will avoid an unprecedented and catastrophic debt default, saying talks with congressional Republicans have been productive as he prepared to leave for a global summit in Japan.

“I’m confident that we’ll get the agreement on the budget and America will not default,” Biden says from the Roosevelt Room of the White House. He said he and lawmakers will come together “because there’s no alternative.”

Biden’s remarks came just before he departed Washington for the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan, and one day after he convened a second Oval Office meeting with congressional leaders to determine how to avert debt default.