The House’s passage of a debt limit deal Wednesday night marks the end of a pivotal chapter for the new House GOP majority, putting Congress on a path to avoid a default and securing a huge victory for Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — even as it’s infuriated conservatives in his own conference.
The vote followed months of jockeying between McCarthy and President Biden over the appropriateness of negotiating future spending as part of the effort to extend the government’s borrowing authority — a fight McCarthy won handily, by forcing Biden reluctantly to the table.
But the final agreement also excluded most of the spending cuts and other favored provisions in the partisan debt ceiling package Republicans passed last month, highlighting the political realities — and potential pitfalls — of shepherding big ideas through a divided Washington.