Crucial days ahead as debt ceiling deal goes for vote and Biden calls lawmakers for support

 WASHINGTON AP" target="_self">(AP) — President Joe Biden says he “feels good” about the debt ceiling and budget deal negotiated with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as the White House and congressional leaders work to ensure its passage this week in time to lift the nation's borrowing limit and prevent a disastrous U.S. default . 

“I feel very good about it," Biden told reporters Monday as he left Washington for his home in Delaware. 

“I’ve spoken to a number of the members,” he said, among them Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, a past partner in big bipartisan deals who largely sat this one out.