The Latest on Debt Ceiling Negotiations

Aides for both the White House and congressional leadership are preparing for another round of discussions on government spending and the debt ceiling ahead of the next leadership level meeting tomorrow.

According to reports out of Capitol Hill, staff have discussed the possibility of a two-year appropriations deal that would include an agreement on spending caps coupled with a hike of the debt ceiling for a similar duration. While these ongoing discussions signify that some progress is being made, the two sides still remain far apart on the parameters of a bipartisan agreement that can pass both chambers. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told reporters earlier this week that he thinks Congress will need a “deal in principle” by next week given the time constraints and uncertainty as to how quickly the U.S. could brush up against the “X date.”

— TODAY IN CONGRESS. House lawmakers will meet today to finish consideration of the GOP-sponsored border security package (H.R. 2). Final passage of the Secure the Border Act is expected to be close given some intraparty concerns from Reps. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Victoria Spartz (R-IN), and Thomas Massie (R-KY), but the measure is ultimately slated to pass the chamber during today’s session. The House is also set to pass a Republican-led bill out of the Ways and Means Committee that seeks to incentivize states to recover fraudulently-paid federal and state unemployment benefits. In the upper chamber, senators are set to vote on a pair of resolutions that seek to overturn Biden administration regulations related to the designation of certain critical habitats (S.J.Res. 23) and Endangered Species Act protections for the northern long-eared bat (S.J.Res 24).