Government shutdown is averted just after deadline as Congress rejects Trump’s debt limit demands

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a government shutdown deadline, the Senate rushed through final passage early Saturday of a bipartisan plan that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, dropping President-elect Donald Trump’s demands for a debt limit increase into the new year. House Speaker Mike Johnson had insisted Congress would “meet our obligations” and not allow federal operations to shutter ahead of the Christmas holiday season. But the day’s outcome was uncertain after Trump doubled down on his insistence that a debt ceiling increase be included in any deal…

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MoveOn Activists Celebrate Victory in Debt Ceiling Battle

(Photo by Sean Zanni/Getty Images for MoveOn) After months of MAGA Republicans’ holding our economy hostage, the Biden administration and Congress have finally reached a deal to raise the debt ceiling, prevent a national default, and preserve critical federal programs. The budget deal that President Biden secured isn’t perfect, but it protects jobs, veterans’ benefits, historic climate change investments enacted in 2022, and lifesaving health care benefits, while mostly preserving the social safety net. Together, MoveOn members’ activism stopped Republicans in Congress from dragging all of us into a catastrophic…

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Now that the debt ceiling debate has been settled, it’s back to business-as-usual for contractors…right?

The debt ceiling debate has absorbed many in Washington over the past few weeks, as well as those whose business prospects are directly tied to federal spending. Now that a deal is done, how are they feeling about it? To find out,  Federal Drive with Tom Temin  spoke with federal contracting expert Larry Allen. Interview Transcript:  Larry Allen I think the good news is now that we have a debt ceiling agreement, that the rest of the fiscal year for fiscal year 23 should be pretty strong. Congress has appropriated a…

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Biden’s reelection pitch that he can govern well faces daunting challenges with debt, border, more

A showdown with Congress that has the nation’s creditworthiness at stake; a frenzied scene at the border as pandemic restrictions ease; a pivotal foreign trip meant to sustain support for Ukraine and contain a more assertive China in the Indo-Pacific. The Washington Times stories: White House

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‘Nothing Has Changed’ Since Feb. 1 Meeting, McCarthy Says on Debt Ceiling

President Joe Biden met with Republican and Democrat leaders Tuesday to discuss the debt ceiling as the U.S. could “run out of cash” in less than a month. Biden met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. at the White House. Biden and McCarthy previously met on Feb. 1. “Nothing has changed since then. The only thing that has changed is the House has raised the debt ceiling and passed the bill. That’s why we…

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