than it was when the summit began. As he took off from Japanese soil, Biden participated in an emergency phone call from Air Force One with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader blamed by the White House for the crisis.The distance between the two men has only intensified since Biden’s departure for Japan. The Republicans accuse the President of being addicted to public expenditure and determined to spend cash like a drunken sailor.
But White House officials claim Republican terms for averting default-inspired economic catastrophe are tantamount to a war on America’s working poor. for tighter restrictions on eligibility for federal welfare payments. The Republicans are targeting rules governing access to food stamps – the aid programme that the poorest Americans use to purchase groceries and other staples.
White House officials hope that with Biden’s premature return to the US capital following the cancellation of his scheduled visits to Papua New Guinea and Australia, he’ll prove able to forge a last minute deal.