Capitol Hill Democrats face tough choices over major economic package in pivotal week ahead
By Clare Foran, With a debt limit crisis averted for now, the Democratic Party’s effort to finalize a sweeping economic package to expand the social safety net will be front-and-center on Capitol Hill this week. Democrats must make a series of hard decisions over how much they are willing to spend on the package and what will be included, a challenge made more difficult amid persistent and stark divisions between progressives and moderates. If the party can’t reach consensus, a key pillar of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda is at risk of falling apart. Also at risk is a separate $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill.
House approves debt ceiling extension through early December
By Clare Foran and Kristin Wilson, The House of Representatives approved an extension of the nation’s debt limit through early December after the Senate passed the stopgap measure last week in a bid to avert a catastrophic default and economic disaster. Now that the Democratic-controlled House has passed the short-term extension, it is cleared for President Joe Biden’s signature. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had warned lawmakers that the federal government would likely run out of cash by October 18 unless Congress raised the debt ceiling, setting up a ticking clock and high stakes. Congress may not even have had that long to act since
Senate votes to extend debt ceiling through early December
By Clare Foran and Ali Zaslav, The Senate voted 50-48 Thursday evening to extend the nation’s debt limit through early December after Democrats and Republicans reached a deal to avert economic disaster following weeks of partisan deadlock over the issue. The House will next have to approve the extension before it can be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said late Thursday that the House will convene on Tuesday to vote on the bill. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Thursday morning that a deal had been reached, paving the way for the final vote
Democrats are serious about potentially changing Senate filibuster rules to avoid default
By Lauren Fox, The country is on the precipice of a financial calamity and Democrats are on the verge of potentially altering the contours of the Senate with a potential one-time rules change that would enable them to pass a debt ceiling increase well ahead of the October 18 deadline. It’s a strategy that Democratic leaders have been socializing since last week in the caucus, but the idea got a serious boost on Tuesday night when President Joe Biden said it’s “a real possibility” that Democrats would establish a carveout of the filibuster rules to let the debt ceiling be increased by a
Black voters were central to Terry McAuliffe winning Virginia in 2013. Will they help him again?
By Eva McKend, Back in 2013, Terry McAuliffe won a majority of Black voters when he sought — and ultimately won — the top office in Virginia. As he vies for a second term as the Commonwealth’s governor, he wants to do it again. With less than a month to go in the election, McAuliffe and Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin are locked in a competitive race in a state Joe Biden carried by 10 points last year. The outcome of this year’s contest will be closely watched inside and outside the Commonwealth for clues about the mood of the electorate heading into the
Justice Clarence Thomas asks the first question and other highlights from opening day at the Supreme Court
By Ariane de Vogue, The Supreme Court — for the first time in more than a year — returned to its majestic courtroom on Monday to begin a new blockbuster term that will include a major Second Amendment dispute and a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade. The justices are taking the bench at a fraught time. Polls show that public confidence in the court is at an all-time low, and the justices find themselves at the center of the political spotlight after a 5-4 court allowed a Texas six-week abortion ban to take effect last month, rendering Roe v. Wade a dead letter, for
Biden tells House progressives spending package needs to be between $1.9 trillion and $2.2 trillion
By Manu Raju, Annie Grayer and Ryan Nobles, President Joe Biden said in a virtual meeting with a group of House progressives on Monday that the top line of the social safety net package needs to come down to somewhere between $1.9 trillion and $2.2 trillion, according to two sources familiar with the call. Biden told the group, according to one of the sources, that was the range he felt Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema would accept but did not specify further within that range. Leaving a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and White House officials Monday night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Supreme Court’s new term could see landmark rulings on abortion, guns and vouchers
By Ariane de Vogue, For the first time in more than a year, the Supreme Court will convene in its crimson velvet-lined majestic chamber Monday to begin a new term and hear some of the most divisive issues of the day at a time when the Court’s institutional legitimacy is under attack and the majority of the public doesn’t approve of the job the justices are doing. In the coming months the nine — six appointed by Republican presidents and three by Democrats — will tackle abortion, the Second Amendment, religious liberty and perhaps even affirmative action, all the while fending off
Biden faces a reckoning on his agenda as top aides start to temper expectations
By Kevin Liptak, President Joe Biden faced a reckoning Thursday after House Democratic leaders, facing a shortfall of support, put off plans to vote on a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan amid sour disagreements over the size and scope of his sweeping domestic agenda. The delayed vote does not mean the end of Biden’s quest to fundamentally change the country’s social safety net and reorient its tax code. But it does amount to an embarrassing setback for a President who ran on his experience as a master dealmaker and convener of the disparate wings of the Democratic Party. The postponed vote was the culmination of a day
Biden nominates 10 more to federal bench, with continued focus on diversity
By Jeremy Diamond, President Joe Biden on Thursday named 10 nominees to the federal bench, continuing his efforts to diversify the judicial branch with picks who would notch demographic firsts on their respective courts. The eighth slate of federal judicial nominations brings Biden’s total to 53 nominees, nearly three-quarters of whom are women, a White House official told CNN. Fifteen of the nominees — more than a quarter of the total — are African American, while 21% are Hispanic and 23% are Asian American or Pacific Islanders (AAPI), the official said. The White House said the latest slate of nominees would mark several historic firsts.