Conservatives surprise McCarthy with floor rebellion over debt deal anger
Politics

Conservatives surprise McCarthy with floor rebellion over debt deal anger

One frustrated conservative, Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), told reporters that “there’s no decision” made yet by McCarthy’s critics on the right on whether to force a vote ousting the speaker. Bishop added that the Republicans who voted no on Tuesday haven’t decided yet whether to take down further votes to make their points: “But the… […]

House GOP tees up contempt vote for FBI director as Biden probe heats up
Politics

House GOP tees up contempt vote for FBI director as Biden probe heats up

A committee contempt vote would significantly ramp up House Republicans’ conflict with the FBI, which has faced major flak since the GOP took the majority, given the years-long conflict between the two entities. In addition, such a move would signal a new phase of Comer’s investigation into Biden’s affairs, where Republicans hope to find an… […]

Biden signs debt ceiling bill
Politics

Biden signs debt ceiling bill

President Joe Biden addresses the nation on the budget deal that lifts the federal debt limit and averts a U.S. government default, from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Friday, June 2, 2023. | Jim Watson/AP Photo President Joe Biden on Saturday signed the debt ceiling bill, a capstone to months of… […]

Sinema and Manchin’s covert debt deal operation
Politics

Sinema and Manchin’s covert debt deal operation

Senators typically loathe the sort of top-down negotiations that produced the deal to lift the debt ceiling through 2024, preferring to use the chamber’s notorious bipartisan gangs that give them more direct input. And this time around only a handful of rank-and-file lawmakers were able to directly influence the process, most distinctly Sinema and Sen.… […]

‘The weirdest legislation that anybody has ever been asked to vote on’
Politics

‘The weirdest legislation that anybody has ever been asked to vote on’

And Warren’s not the only one weighing whether the deal is better than the alternative. Even some liberals who are planning to vote against the bill acknowledge it’s better than default. Typically, it’s just Republicans who are hard to woo on lifting the debt ceiling — but this time Democrats are also agonizing over what… […]

Defense drama hinders Senate sprint toward debt vote
Politics

Defense drama hinders Senate sprint toward debt vote

“Sounded like there were a lot of areas of agreement. They are trying to write them down, sometimes that’s a challenge,” said Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who was in some of those huddles. At issue is the budget deal’s defense spending number, which would lock in defense spending below $900 billion over the next… […]

Senate averts default, sends debt bill to Biden’s desk
Politics

Senate averts default, sends debt bill to Biden’s desk

Before the House vote, Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the White House had spent weeks negotiating the bill that raised the debt ceiling through 2024 and cut spending, which Republicans had demanded as a condition for increasing the nation’s borrowing limit. Senate leaders largely stayed out of the discussions, allowing McCarthy to take the lead for… […]

Lawyers for Jim Justice say his coal companies ‘chronically scarce’ on cash
Politics

Lawyers for Jim Justice say his coal companies ‘chronically scarce’ on cash

The legal storm is colliding with Justice’s campaign to unseat Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in next year’s election, and offers a test for the popular governor whose fossil fuel wealth defined his political rise in coal country. The latest legal challenge came Wednesday when the Justice Department sued Justice’s business enterprise and his son, James… […]

8 takeaways from the debt ceiling vote
Politics

8 takeaways from the debt ceiling vote

Spending caps What the deal does: This fight was ostensibly about the national debt — and it produced a deal that locks in two years of caps on federal spending. For the fiscal year that kicks off in October, overall discretionary funding for non-defense programs would stay about the same as today’s total, while defense… […]