A crisis averted

Plus: debt deal details and DOJ closes Pence classified docs inquiry

View this email online June 3, 2023 The Big Picture: The Silent Middle Majority Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images There was lots of drama around the debt ceiling.  A (fuzzy) deadline for a potentially calamitous, first-ever U.S. default.  A deal that emerged at the 11th hour between a Democratic president, who for months had been reluctant to negotiate, and a new Republican speaker, who oversees a fractious and slim GOP majority. Lots of angry objections (with some well-founded concerns) left and right.  Threats of derailing the bill and sending the country and world economy over an economic cliff. Dun. Dun. Dun. In the end, though, the drama lost and the pragmatists won. Despite many of the big-name, attention-grabbing members voting against it, the deal passed both chambers of Congress overwhelmingly – more than 300 votes in the House, nearly two-thirds of the Senate. It shows that when a threat as real as economic collapse is presented to this group of lawmakers – call them the Silent Middle Majority – they can act. But before anyone starts singing the praises of a new Kumbaya Congress, don’t expect much else to get done in the next year and a half. Polarization and partisanship are real. There isn’t much incentive for members to compromise because there are only a few dozen truly competitive districts, so most lawmakers are catering to their bases.  And House Speaker Kevin McCarthy may have spent a significant amount of political capital, irritating the archconservative wing of his conference. Good thing then that the deal President Biden and McCarthy struck lifts the debt ceiling until 2025, taking another potential crisis of this magnitude off the table until after the 2024 presidential and congressional elections. — Domenico Montanaro, NPR’s senior political editor/correspondent Read More Newsletter continues after sponsor message ICYMI: Top Stories Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Deal details: As we mentioned, the bill Congress passed to avoid a default this week was the result of weeks of negotiations and horse trading. The top lines? The debt limit is raised for two years in exchange for two years of spending caps for the federal budget. It also makes changes to food stamps and environmental regulations. Biden intends to sign it as soon as Saturday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Friday. Read on for more about the deal. Right-wing revolt? The passage of the deal was a major victory for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, but it wasn’t smooth sailing to get there. Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus felt the bill didn’t go far enough to curb spending, and pledged that a “reckoning” would come for the party. Opponents moved away from the idea of ousting McCarthy now – a process that requires only one member to begin. But with a razor-thin majority, the speaker could face similar challenges in the future.  2024 primary heats up: Several Republicans seeking to be an alternative to former President Trump are poised to enter the presidential primary next week: former Vice President Mike Pence and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Both broke with the former president after Jan. 6, 2021. Now they’re in the position of running against the frontrunner they helped create and legitimize. Also expected to announce his longshot bid for the White House is North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. Biden tries to turn the Tar Heel state blue: The Biden campaign is aiming to not just compete in North Carolina next year, but win the state. It’s something no Democrat running for president has done since Obama in 2008. But Trump carried the state by just 1.3 percentage points in 2020, and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper won reelection the same year.  ERIC exodus: Texas could be the latest – and largest – state to leave the bipartisan system used to cross-check voter roll data. The Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, was once touted by Democrats and Republicans alike as a valuable tool to efficiently and accurately update voter rolls. But in the past several years, far-right misinformation and conspiracy theories have turned several GOP states against the program. Pence cleared: Former Vice President Mike Pence will not be charged over classified documents found at his Indiana home earlier this year. The Justice Department is closing its investigation without any finding of criminal wrongdoing. — Lexie Schapitl, NPR Politics producer It all comes down to you Your financial support is the NPR Network's greatest strength. You keep the facts flowing. You bring more stories to more ears. You make a real difference when you contribute to independent, trustworthy media. Please donate today.    Going Deeper: Take a Capitol Tour Karen Bleier/AFP via Getty Images Join NPR reporters on an audio tour of the U.S. Capitol complex -- through Senate office buildings, press work stations, the Capitol subway and the House floor. (This episode was originally released as a bonus episode for NPR Politics Podcast+ supporters.) Listen here. — Heidi Glenn, NPR Politics digital editor The Shot: Can You Use It In a Sentence? Nick Wass/AP An eighth grader from Largo, Fla., won the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday.  Dev Shah, 14, won with the word "psammophile," a noun that is used to describe animals and plants that prefer to live in sandy soil environments, according to Merriam-Webster. This was Shah’s third time competing in the bee and his final year of eligibility. He also spelled "poliorcetics," "aegagrus" and "schistorrhachis" to take home the $50,000 cash prize.  — Lexie Schapitl, NPR Politics producer — Heidi Glenn, NPR digital editor Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WBEZ (edit station). What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: nprpolitics@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Daily News, Code Switch, Health and more! 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