WASHINGTON (AP) — An “agreement in principle” between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy would raise the nation’s legal debt ceiling, but now Congress has only days to approve a package that includes spending cuts and would avert a potentially disastrous U.S. default.
The compromise announced late Saturday risks angering both Democratic and Republican lawmakers as they begin to unpack the concessions.
Support from both parties will be needed to win congressional approval before a projected June 5 government default on U.S. debts.
Central to the compromise is a two-year budget deal that would hold spending flat for 2024 and increase it by 1% for 2025 in exchange for raising the debt limit for two years, which would push the volatile political issue past the next presidential election.
Driving hard for a deal to impose tougher work requirements on government aid recipients, Republicans achieved some but not all of what they wanted. The agreement would raise the age for existing work requirements on able-bodied adults, from 49 to 54, without children. Biden was able to secure waivers for veterans and the homeless.
Lawmakers aren’t expected to return to work from the Memorial Day weekend before Tuesday, at the earliest.
White House officials plan to brief House Democrats Sunday.