, Columnist
Republicans Want to Cut Spending, But Can’t Say Where
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been understandably reluctant to get specific about his demands in negotiations over the debt ceiling.
Who will negotiate first?
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Months after initiating a potentially economy-destroying standoff over the debt ceiling, House Republicans are (maybe!) finally getting close to saying what they actually want. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean the crisis is getting any closer to resolution.
Ever since last fall’s midterms, the issue of the debt ceiling has been stuck in a bizarre quantum superposition: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy insists there can be no increase unless the White House acquiesces to his demands. The White House responds that first McCarthy needs to make some demands.