Reuters
By Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Congress is locked in a standoff that risks triggering a financial and economic meltdown if lawmakers don’t raise a limit on government borrowing before Oct. 18, the day the U.S. Treasury could run out of cash for paying government bills. The drama’s central players are Senator Mitch McConnell, who leads the Republican minority in the Senate and has vowed to obstruct normal legislative efforts to raise the debt ceiling, and Senator Chuck Schumer, leader of the chamber’s Democratic majority and an ally of President Joe Biden. Here are some ways the…