It’s been a busy Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Here are three top stories in U.S. politics to watch this week:
House Speaker McCarthy clears first hurdle
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was able to muster enough votes with the Republican caucus to advance a rules package that will help set the parameters for the new Congress.
However, there’s now speculation and concern from moderate Republicans about just how much leverage Speaker McCarthy ceded to the ultraconservative Freedom Caucus in negotiations.
Those concessions could be on full display during the looming debt ceiling fight expected this year. And it raises the likelihood of political volatility that could reverberate in the market, similar to the debt limit battle in 2011 when America’s credit score was downgraded for the first time. Though, unlike in 2011, the U.S. faces a likely economic slowdown, if not a full-blown recession, this year.
McCarthy’s decision to embolden the right-wing Freedom Caucus could lead to more friction down the road with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and President Biden. It also must be squared with veteran advocacy groups — many of whom are backed by Republican foreign policy hawks — who are growing irate that ultraconservative partisans are pushing for defense cuts in light of recent geopolitical risk posed by Russia and China.
Biden proposes new student loan policies
President Biden announced new policies that could significantly reduce the cost of student loans for qualifying Americans.
The White House stated the proposal, which would overhaul one of the income-repayment plans, could save qualifying Americans as much as $2,000 annually, according to CNBC.
The Department of Education added that lower-income borrowers could see their payments per dollar decrease by as much as 83% compared to current levels.
Biden’s announcement comes as his previous plan to forgive as much as $20,000 in student loan debt is currently under review by the U.S. Supreme Court, with a decision potentially coming later this year.
U.S. attorney reviews Biden documents
Republicans are pouncing on news that the Department of Justice is reviewing previously undisclosed and potentially classified documents found in Biden’s former vice presidential office at a think tank in Washington.
CBS News reported that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has asked U.S. attorney John Lausch to investigate the documents, which were found by Biden’s personal lawyers last fall.
The White House stated that the National Archives and Records Administration was notified after the discovery and the agency collected the documents the following morning.
The Justice Department was made aware of the documents before the midterm elections. Republicans — including former President Donald Trump, who is seeking office in 2024 — are questioning why Garland waited until after the midterm elections to disclose the matter to the public.
It’s unclear what was in the documents; however, Biden’s special counsel said in a statement that “documents were not the subject of any previous request or inquiry by the [National] Archives.”
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Kevin Cirilli is a visiting media fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub and the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue. Follow him on LinkedIn here.
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