Biden and GOP Reach Tentative Debt Ceiling Agreement

President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) have reached an “agreement in principle” to raise the nation’s debt ceiling until 2024.

The Details: Congress will vote to approve the agreement, which Biden described as a “compromise,” on Wednesday. Increased work requirements for food stamp recipients were approved, which House Democrats previously called a nonstarter, but overall spending cuts did not go as far as Republicans would have liked.

For Context: Tense negotiations were ongoing for weeks. The U.S. Treasury announced Friday that the government would run out of money by June 5 if the debt ceiling were not raised, which would “cause severe hardship to American families,” and “harm our global leadership position,” according to its Secretary Janet Yellen.

McCarthy: “We still have a lot of work to do. But I believe this is an agreement in principle that’s worthy of the American people. It has historic reductions in spending, consequential reforms that will lift people out of poverty into the workforce, and rein in government overreach. There are no new taxes, no new government programs.”

Biden: “It is an important step forward that reduces spending while protecting critical programs for working people and growing the economy for everyone. And the agreement protects my and congressional Democrats’ key priorities and legislative accomplishments.”

How The Media Covered It: Sources across the spectrum covered the news fairly similarly as it broke, but the story is still developing while the official agreement is being drafted on Sunday.