US Senator Dianne Feinstein returns to duty after months-long absence – as it happened

Senator says she is returning to work in Washington DC on a lighter schedule' due to her ongoing health issues as she recovers from shingles

We're heading towards Joe Biden's main public engagement of the day, a speech in New York about why Congress must avoid default immediately".

The president is due to speak at 1.30pm ET, at SUNY Westchester Community College. The speech comes after a difficult Tuesday debt ceiling extension meeting at the White House.

McCarthy read aloud old quotes from Democrats including Biden and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi about the need to negotiate around the debt limit.

Biden, in turn, asked McCarthy why House Republicans' Limit, Save and Grow Act - which extended the debt limit by $1.5tn while slashing agency outlays - cut veterans funding by 22%. McCarthy then told the president that was a lie. That exchange stunned some in the room.