A coalition of moderate House Democrats is offering a helping hand to Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and President Biden in debt limit talks while urging them to work toward “good faith negotiations” as both leaders prepare to meet on Wednesday. “With the deadline to increase the statutory debt limit only a few months away, we…
Author: Aris Folley
Rand Paul: GOP should give up ‘sacred cow’ and trim military spending
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Wednesday pushed Republicans against taking military spending off the table as the party looks for ways to tackle government funding in talks on how to address the debt limit this year. While speaking at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Paul framed the partisan battle over the nation’s debt limit…
Warren: Republicans threatening to ‘wreck’ economy in debt ceiling battle to protect wealthy
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Monday took a jab at Republicans in the ongoing debt ceiling fight, accusing the party of trying to “wreck the economy” to protect wealthy taxpayers. “If this were really about the national debt, then there are plenty of places we could go to stitch up loopholes, like no more of…
McCarthy tries to get out of his box on debt ceiling
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is pressing for Democrats to come to the bargaining table and begin negotiations to address the nation’s debt limit, as he faces pressures within his party to make good on significant fiscal reform. McCarthy called on the White House to start discussions this week. But as both sides gear up for the…
Treasury resorts to ‘extraordinary measures’ after US hits debt limit
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday notified congressional leaders that her office will begin to implement so-called “extraordinary measures” to keep the U.S. government from defaulting on its debt. The nation’s debt climbed to more than $31.4 trillion this week, federal financial data show, crossing the threshold set by Congress when it last raised the nation’s borrowing limit…
Top Democratic appropriator presses agency heads for impact of proposed GOP spending cuts
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, on Thursday sent letters to various agency heads on potential impacts of significant caps on government spending floated by Republicans. The nearly two dozen letters went out to leaders at various government agencies, including the departments of Defense, State, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, Education,…
Yellen says US is projected to hit debt ceiling on Jan. 19
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. is projected to reach its roughly $31.4 trillion borrowing limit in less than a week. An estimate from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation shows the nation’s debt climbing above $31 trillion and within striking range of the limit set more than a year ago. Yellen shared the estimate in a…
What can’t the House do without a Speaker?
Concerns are rising around Capitol Hill as the two-day impasse among Republicans over who should serve as Speaker effectively keeps the chamber in limbo. Republicans have signaled some signs of progress within the party as talks remain ongoing; however, it remains unclear if House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) can cobble together enough votes to…
Five highlights from the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill Congress just passed
Congress this week unveiled and swiftly passed a sprawling $1.7 trillion omnibus package to fund the government through September 2023. The Senate passed the measure on Thursday in a 68-29 vote and the House on Friday passed it 225-201-1. It now heads to the White House, where President Biden is expected to approve the funding…
House ends Congress by passing $1.7 trillion funding package
The House passed a mammoth $1.7 trillion omnibus package on Friday, capping off weeks of drama to lock down government funding for the next fiscal year. The bill passed largely along party lines, 225-201-1, a day after the Senate approved the bill in a bipartisan vote. The legislation now heads to President Biden’s desk for…