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Democratic and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill are starting to temper expectations among their members about what a final debt ceiling deal could look like, becoming more explicit in acknowledging that neither side will get everything it wants.

When asked Monday whether any ultimate deal to cut spending as a condition of raising the debt ceiling will lose votes on both the left and right ideological edges of the parties, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) indicated that it would.

“Did you ever think at the end of the day that when you get into a negotiation with both sides that only one side is gonna carry everything? No, no one thinks that,” McCarthy said.

That same day, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said he was willing to consider a White House offer to freeze spending at current levels — a stance that is drawing ire from liberals.

Though Republicans flatly rejected that offer, it shows just how far the White House has moved in discussions with Republicans in a matter of weeks as pressure mounts to secure a deal.

“Any proposal that potentially offers to freeze spending is not a proposal that has been put into the public domain by the left flank,” Jeffries told reporters Monday. “That’s an inherently reasonable effort to find common ground in a divided government situation.”

Politics watchers had long expected the eventual deal to lift the debt ceiling to fall somewhere between what the two parties are demanding, but McCarthy’s and Jeffries’s statements are their clearest signals yet that their members should prepare for a compromise that jettisons some party priorities.

The tempering on both sides comes as negotiators say they are having productive meetings but remain apart on key issues ahead of a default that the Treasury Department says could come as soon as June 1.

Even with Democratic support, any deal that McCarthy makes will have to win support from a large majority of the House Republicans in order for him to keep the confidence of his conference — and his gavel.

“[McCarthy] knows that to get this passed out of the House, it’s gonna require a conservative work product that fundamentally changes how we spend money in this country,” Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) said. “I believe that he’ll deliver that. I believe we’ll have the sort of overwhelming majority of the conference.”

Right-wingers lined up to support the Speaker to pass a bill that paired a $1.5 trillion debt ceiling increase with around $4.8 trillion in deficit reductions over a decade. The measure was designed to get President Biden to the negotiating table, but members of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus are pushing the Speaker to “use every leverage and tool at their disposal” to force the Senate to vote on the proposal or offer a countermeasure. 

Some members have said they see the deal as a floor, rather than a ceiling, for what they expect in a final product.

“I’ll look at anything,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) said about a potential deal. But he said many Republicans feel that the House GOP debt bill was “meager at best,” and that he would want “four times the cuts.”

“I don’t know why we’re negotiating. The House has done its job. The Senate needs to pass the bill,” said Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), adding that the only position being pushed by members in a Tuesday morning conference meeting was to pass the House GOP bill.

McCarthy spoke to that stance when asked Tuesday if he is preparing his conference to accept something less than the House GOP bill, responding that the real question is “what’s the Senate willing to accept, because they didn’t do anything.” 

Yet he has laid out only a few red lines for a compromise: no tax increases, cut discretionary spending below current levels and no clean debt ceiling increase. 

The red lines are around major issues, to be sure, but fall short of the full GOP wish list.

Johnson said it is too early to worry about how Republicans are going to whip the votes for a debt limit compromise. And others are downplaying the difficulty of doing so, with Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), chair of the House Rules Committee, saying leadership will be able to secure that large majority with “a great whip team, which we have, and I think the sense that we’re being successful.”

At the same time, Democratic leaders are also feeling pressure from their left flank, as liberals roundly reject negotiations with Republicans over the debt limit. 

Speaking about the White House proposal to freeze spending, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said she could not in “good faith understand how that is a reasonable offer at the moment.”

“I think the offer should raise the debt ceiling. We have conversations about the budget later,” she said, adding, “If Democrats don’t get serious about the extremists that they’re dealing with, we are going to risk allowing these people to destroy our economy and the global economy.”

The warning from Omar adds to some of the growing uneasiness among progressives in recent weeks over the potential concessions the White House may end up making in order to find compromise with GOP leadership. 

“Look at what is being proposed in terms of cuts,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, told reporters earlier this week. “Don’t talk about spending in the abstract. Headstart, 200,000 kids, no slots. 100,000 kids without child care.”

However, DeLauro didn’t rule out spending cuts entirely in comments to reporters, as many members on both sides have refrained from drawing red lines in debt limit negotiations. 

Others in the party also aren’t thrilled by the direction talks have gone, but there is an understanding that the final compromise between the White House and a divided Congress won’t include everything both sides have pushed for.  Arnold Schwarzenegger hired as chief action officer at Netflix 6 in 10 say spending cuts should accompany increase in debt ceiling: poll

“We have a divided government. Nothing can get done around here without votes on both sides in the Senate and the House,” Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said Tuesday. “That means neither side is getting 100 percent of what they want.”

“We recognize that we’re not going to get everything. Republicans shouldn’t get everything,” he said.

Mychael Schnell contributed to this report, which was updated on May 24 at 7:03 a.m.

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Stockton fuels comeback as UGA topples Ole Miss

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Stockton fuels comeback as UGA topples Ole Miss

Gunner Stockton passed for 289 yards and four touchdowns, including three to tight end Lawson Luckie, and No. 9 Georgia overcame Trinidad Chambliss and No. 5 Mississippi’s powerful offense to rally for a 43-35 win over the Rebels on Saturday.

Georgia (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) rallied after trailing 35-26 at the start of the fourth quarter. Stockton’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Luckie with 7:29 remaining gave Georgia a 40-35 lead.

Ole Miss (6-1, 3-1) was denied its first road win over a top 10 team under coach Lane Kiffin even though the Rebels scored touchdowns on their first five possessions.

Stockton completed 26 of 31 passes and added a 22-yard scoring run in the crucial SEC showdown.

“It was a great day,” Stockton said. “We just played for each other and that’s the best part of our team.”

Stockton and the Bulldogs had no turnovers.

In previewing the game, Kiffin said winning at Georgia would mean the Rebels have taken “another step” in their move up the SEC. That looked likely when they scored touchdowns on each of their first five possessions, taking a nine-point lead in the third quarter.

Suddenly, the Ole Miss offense lost its magic as Georgia did not give up another first down.

Following the first punt of the game by either team with 12:44 remaining, Stockton led a nine-play, 67-yard drive capped by the 7-yard scoring pass to Luckie that gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the second half.

Following another stop by Georgia’s defense, Stockton led a 10-play drive to set up Peyton Woodring‘s third field goal of the game, a 42-yarder, to stretch the lead to eight points with 2:06 remaining.

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World

Hamas hands over bodies of two more hostages, Israel confirms

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Hamas hands over bodies of two more hostages, Israel confirms

Israel has received the bodies of two more hostages from the Red Cross, the Israeli prime minister’s office has confirmed.

Shortly after 10pm UK time on Saturday, Israel’s military said Hamas handed over “two coffins of deceased hostages”.

There has been no identification of the bodies yet.

The news came as tensions were beginning to rise over the closure of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

Benjamin Netanyahu‘s office had said earlier on Saturday evening that it would stay closed “until further notice” – as the deadline for Hamas to return the bodies of the hostages had passed with no confirmation.

Mr Netanyahu had warned that its reopening would depend on how Hamas fulfilled its role in returning the remains of all 28 dead hostages.

The handover brings the count of returned bodies to 12 hostages, up from 10, according to Israel’s tally. Another 16 deceased hostages would then still have to be returned.

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All 28 were supposed to have been handed over by last Monday.

The handover of remains is among key points – along with aid deliveries into Gaza and the devastated territory’s future – in the ceasefire process meant to end two years of war.

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Rafah crossing to remain closed

Israel’s foreign ministry had originally said the Rafah crossing would likely reopen on Sunday – another step in the fragile ceasefire. This has now been revised to being closed “until further notice”.

A satellite image shows the back-up of aid trucks at the border from the air. Pic: ©2025 Vantor/Reuters
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A satellite image shows the back-up of aid trucks at the border from the air. Pic: ©2025 Vantor/Reuters

A fully reopened crossing would make it easier for Gazans to seek medical treatment, travel internationally or visit family in Egypt, which is home to tens of thousands of Palestinians.

It is unclear who will operate the crossing’s heavily damaged Gaza side once the war ends.

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Meanwhile, Gaza’s ruins were being scoured for the dead, over a week into a ceasefire. Newly recovered bodies brought the Palestinian toll above 68,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Read more:
Watch: Evidence of Israeli support for Gaza militia
Gaza health authorities struggling to identify bodies
Violence that plagues Gaza

The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. But the ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts.

Famine declared

Israel has disputed them without providing its own toll.

Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the attack on southern Israel that sparked the war on October 7 2023.

Gaza’s more than two million people are hoping the ceasefire will bring relief from the humanitarian disaster caused by Israel’s offensive. Throughout the war, Israel restricted aid entry to Gaza – sometimes halting it altogether.

Famine was declared in Gaza City, and the UN says it has verified more than 400 people who died of malnutrition-related causes, including more than 100 children.

Officials in Israel say they have let in enough food, accusing Hamas of stealing much of it. The UN and other aid agencies deny this claim.

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Technology

Close to half of Kalshi user base experienced glitches, delays during Saturday college football games

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Close to half of Kalshi user base experienced glitches, delays during Saturday college football games

The Kalshi logo arranged on a laptop in New York, US, on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025.

Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Close to half of Kalshi’s user base experienced glitches and delays on Saturday during college football games, a major source of trades, as some said they were temporarily unable to process orders.

In a message sent to a user obtained by CNBC, the predictions market service’s website apologized for any inconvenience and said it was “looking into” the issues traders were experiencing. 

“The Exchange is experiencing temporary delays,” the message read. “Balances and positions may not be accurately reflected at this time.” 

One user shared a screen recording and screenshots with CNBC that showed they were unable to see their balance or bets while the issues persisted.

A number of users on X reported the website was down when they were trying to place bets on college football games, with some saying they had open orders that wouldn’t process. When CNBC visited the website, it wouldn’t load, showing only a green K with a spinning circle around it for more than 20 minutes. The platform later loaded.

“Earlier today, Kalshi experienced minor glitches that temporarily affected some user experiences. No exchange outage occurred, no funds were affected, and the issues are now resolved,” the company said in a statement.

Earlier, a spokesperson denied there was an outage and said the exchange “never stopped functioning properly.” He added that there has been no impact on clearing, advanced trading, or institutional trading.

“There were some glitches and delays on our web and app product, which affected less than half of our user base,” the spokesperson said. 

A little over a week ago, Kalshi announced a $300 million Series D funding round that valued the company at $5 billion, more than double its $2 billion valuation in June after its Series C round. 

The round was co-led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Sequoia Capital, with participation from Paradigm. Additional backers included Coinbase Ventures, General Catalyst, Spark Capital and CapitalG. 

The company, founded in 2018, rose to prominence by offering bettors the ability to trade on a wide range of real-world events, from football games to who President Donald Trump could pardon this year.

WATCH: Kalshi CEO on $2B valuation: We’re one of the fastest growing companies in America

Kalshi CEO on hitting $2B valuation: We're one of the fastest growing companies in America

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