The reported budget deal sounds like a complete defeat for White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney

There's apparently some agreement in Washington, D.C.
The Democrat-led House and the GOP-run Senate and White House are getting close to finalizing a deal that would lift the debt ceiling for another two years, multiple sources reported Monday morning. The near deal likely won't include major spending cuts, people familiar with negotiations have said, spelling a likely defeat for deficit hawk and Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney.
Deficit ceiling talks roll around every few years, with Congress and the White House constantly having to hammer out a budget deal that usually includes lifting the federal government's debt limits. This year's deal is set to include $1.3 trillion in spending across government agencies and a two-year extension on the government's ability to borrow, The Associated Press reports. If all works out as reported, the government will likely avoid a shutdown that could've happened this coming fall.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This deal means government spending will increase "by tens of billions of dollars in the next two years," The Washington Post reports — the exact opposite of spending cuts a White House budget request spelled out earlier this year. That's quite possibly because Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is heading the talks for the White House instead of debt-reducing hardliner Mulvaney. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is meanwhile negotiating for Democrats, and both sides want to see a deal reached before Congress breaks for recess this week until late August. If a deal isn't orchestrated by September, $126 billion in automatic spending cuts will start in January, likely hitting Mnuchin's own agency.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
US foodies brace for tariff war
Under The Radar Shoppers stocking up on imported olive oil, maple syrup and European wine as price hikes loom
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
How Canadian tariffs could impact tourism to the US
In the Spotlight Canadians represent the largest group of foreign visitors to the United States. But they may soon stop visiting.
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Entitlements: DOGE goes after Social Security
Feature Elon Musk is pushing false claims about Social Security fraud
By The Week US Published
-
Rep. Sylvester Turner dies, weeks after joining House
Speed Read The former Houston mayor and longtime state legislator left behind a final message for Trump: 'Don't mess with Medicaid'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pauses Ukraine intelligence sharing
Speed Read The decision is intended to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rules against Trump on aid freeze
Speed Read The court rejected the president's request to freeze nearly $2 billion in payments for foreign humanitarian work
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump touts early wins in partisan speech to Congress
Speed Read The president said he is 'just getting started' with his sweeping changes to immigration, the economy and foreign policy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trudeau blasts Trump's 'very dumb' trade war
Speed Read Retaliatory measures have been announced by America's largest trading partners following Trump's tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump pauses military aid to Ukraine after public spat
Speed Read Trump and J.D. Vance berated Volodymyr Zelenskyy for what they saw as insufficient gratitude
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump's Mexico and Canada tariffs begin, roiling markets
Speed Read Stocks plunged after Trump affirmed that the tariffs would take effect, sparking a likely trade war
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Judge tells White House to stop ordering mass firings
speed read The ruling is a complication in the Trump administration's plans to slash the federal workforce
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published