Economy

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy defied his critics to win the speaker’s gavel, then did it again in striking a debt deal with President Joe Biden. Now he and his allies are taking a victory lap.

The bill passed on a bipartisan vote Wednesday, losing a faction of Republicans who said it was insufficient to tackle the debt, as well as Democrats who opposed its spending cuts.

The House passed the debt ceiling bill Wednesday night just days ahead of the June 5 deadline to avoid a catastrophic U.S. default.

The Rules Committee greenlighted the bill Tuesday, sending it to the GOP-led House for a vote expected Wednesday. It would then go to the Democratic-led Senate.

Republicans and Democrats each won some concessions.

Some Republicans are confident: “Oh, this thing will absolutely pass,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson, the chair of the center-right Main Street Caucus.

The White House is holding calls with House Democrats about the details of the agreement Monday and Tuesday.

Debt ceiling negotiators on Capitol Hill have agreed to tighten work requirements for nutrition benefits, a longtime conservative goal that the low-profile Foundation for Government Accountability has been helping to advance at the state level.

The Treasury secretary gets more specific about the deadline, saying in a letter Friday the country has until June 5 to act or trigger a potential default.

House Republicans sent negotiators to the White House yesterday.

“We have learned from past debt limit impasses that waiting until the last minute ... can cause serious harm to business and consumer confidence," Yellen wrote to Congress Monday.