White House and congressional leaders on Monday clinched a sweeping fiscal deal to lift the nation’s debt limit and dramatically raise federal spending levels
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The agreement would eliminate the threat of dual fiscal crises that have long been hanging over Washington — an unprecedented default on U.S. debt and massive across-the-board spending cuts that could paralyze key agencies. The final agreement came during a 5 p.m. conference call, which included Mnuchin, Pelosi, Schumer, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. On the call, the congressional leaders agreed that Trump would announce the deal by tweet, and their own statements would follow.
Both are major compromises for the emboldened House Democratic caucus, which has already passed those provisions in their own party-line spending bills this year. And many are still fuming that Trump circumvented Congress last year in an attempt to divert funds to his border wall, a move that is still awaiting a final ruling in the courts.
McConnell, who was regularly briefed on the negotiations but not part of the back-and-forth, confirmed Monday he planned to bring up the deal for a vote before the August recess. There will be approximately $77 billion in offsets as part of the agreement, a move designed to ameliorate concerns by Trump and GOP leaders. The pay-fors will come from familiar sources: Extending customs fees that are set to expire and extending the so-called "Medicare sequester," according to people familiar with the deal.
Some Senate Republican fear a repeat of the painful shutdown earlier this year, when a group of conservatives close to the presidentThe compromise is only partly paid for, which has infuriated Congress’s few remaining fiscal hawks. Some Republican lawmakers, led by members of the House Freedom Caucus, areBut the agreement also contains a big increase in Pentagon spending, likely to deliver votes from the majority of Republicans.
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