Debt ceiling wars & McCarthy's used chapstick: Capitol Hill chaos
Welcome back to KK&F — time to talk about the debt ceiling, which has brought up pressing political questions we want answered alongside those we definitely, definitely don’t. (An example of that last one, from a truly cursed Politico headline: “Guess who just bid $100K for McCarthy’s used chapstick.” You can’t unread that. It was Marjorie Taylor Greene.) But back to the questions we do want answered. As Democrats face off against Republicans to lower the debt ceiling and Republicans negotiate with them for cuts to social spending, who holds the power? How is the Biden admin responding to this gridlock, and how does this response measure up to the “master negotiator” narrative that Biden has crafted for himself? What are the Democrats willing to give up to achieve their political goals, and what can that tell us about the direction the party is headed in?
Luckily, we don’t have to go it alone in our search for answers. We’re joined this week by David Dayen, whom you know as a writer for the Intercept and executive editor of the American Prospect. David’s been covering the debt ceiling negotiations lately, and we think you’ll appreciate his insight into the latest on Capital Hill. We certainly have, and we’re excited to share our conversation with you. Paying subscribers can tune into the episode when it’s released Friday evening on Substack; everyone else can listen through Spotify, Pandora, Apple Podcasts, and your other favorite streaming platforms on Saturday. Thanks for joining us!