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House Republicans Plan to Hold the Debt Limit Hostage Against Joe Biden

  • House Republican push for spending cuts would test Biden
  • Analysts see risk of belt tightening amid a possible recession
Kevin McCarthy, center.

Kevin McCarthy, center.

Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

Washington and Wall Street are well accustomed to the partisan brinkmanship over the US federal debt limit, but the battle looming in 2023 carries a major economic risk at a time when the US may have slumped into a recession.

Negotiations will be crucially shaped by the outcome of the Nov. 8 congressional election. If forecasts bear out, Republicans will assume control of at least the House, and some GOP lawmakers are vowing to demand spending cuts as the price for increasing the statutory debt ceiling.