ARCHIVES
Democrats Pass Republican Compromise
Thursday, June 1, 2023
On History: In the end it was the Democrats who provided the votes to pass Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s compromise on budget and debt, with more Democrats voting in favor than Republicans. Attempting to whip up the vote, McCarthy had …
internal Republican Revolt
Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Internal Revolt: The hardest of the hard right wing Republicans are in revolt over the debt and budget deal agreed to between Speaker Kevin McCarty and President Biden, threatening whether the deal can pass Congress. As many as 30 Republicans have …
Selling the Debt Deal
Tuesday, May 30, 2023
On the Money: Congress has until June 5th to approve the budget and debt ceiling deal reached over the weekend before the federal government goes into default on its debts and bills. It’s not a slam dunk. Party leaders will have to …
Negotiators Reach Budget and Debt Deal
Monday, May 29, 2023
The Deal: The House Republican leadership agreed to a two-year lifting of the federal debt ceiling in exchange for a two-year freeze on what’s known as discretionary spending — that’s most of the programs for which Americans depend on the federal government. …
US Poorer Than a Billionaire
Saturday, May 27, 2023
Money Crunch: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the government will run out of money by June 5th, four days later than the original projection, but still not leaving a lot of time for House Republicans and the White House to …
Oath Keeper Sent Up River
Friday, May 26, 2023
Arms and the Man: Stewart Rhodes, the founder and leader of the Oath Keepers with the pirate’s eye patch, was sentenced yesterday to 18 years in federal prison for seditious conspiracy in connection with the January 6th Capitol insurrection. It is the longest …
DeSantis Delayed by Twitter Glitch
Thursday, May 25, 2023
It’s Political: Rich Lowry of The National Review wrote about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that “It’s never a good sign when political analysts are writing ‘What Went Wrong?’ stories about your presidential campaign before it’s announced. And then things went wrong …
Treasury on Thin Ice
Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Debt and Debate: A Washington think tank that tracks federal spending says the US will be dangerously close to default on its debt after Memorial Day. “Come early June, Treasury will be skating on very thin ice that will only get thinner …
Debt Talks Today as Deadline Approaches
Monday, May 22, 2023
Debt and Debate: President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have agreed to meet again today to attempt negotiating over the debt ceiling impasse. The Republicans are insisting on spending caps, work requirements for public benefit programs, and other demands in exchange …
Debt Talks Near the Precipice
Saturday, May 20, 2023
Debt and Debate: Talks between Republican and Democratic leaders about the national debt limit ended last night without any significant progress. House Republican Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said, “We can’t be spending more money; we have to spend less than we spent …