McCarthy, Dems temper expectations on debt-ceiling deal

Published

2 years ago

May 24, 2023

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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.

Politics

Ukraine presses Russia for 30-day ceasefire as Starmer among leaders in Kyiv for talks

Published

3 hours ago

May 10, 2025

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Ukraine presses Russia for 30-day ceasefire as Starmer among leaders in Kyiv for talks

Sir Keir Starmer has joined other European leaders in Kyiv to press Russia to agree an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

The prime minister is attending the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

It is the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled to Ukraine at the same time – arriving in the capital by train – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

It comes after Donald Trump called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting is not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.

Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington the European leaders are “rowing in behind” the US president, who referred to his “European allies” for the first time in this context in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“So this meeting is all about heaping pressure on the Russians to go along with the American proposal,” he said.

“It’s the closest the Europeans and the US have been for about three months on this issue.”

Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” for at least 30 days starting on Monday.

Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement.

European leaders show solidarity – but await Trump’s backing

Dominic Waghorn

International affairs editor

@DominicWaghorn

The hope is Russia’s unilateral ceasefire, such as it’s worth, can be extended for a month to give peace a chance.

But ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian sources told Sky News they are still waiting for President Donald Trump to put his full weight behind the idea.

The US leader has said a 30-day ceasefire would be ideal, but has shown no willingness yet for putting pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to agree.

The Russians say a ceasefire can only come after a peace deal can be reached.

European allies are still putting their hopes in a negotiated end to the war despite Moscow’s intransigence and President Trump’s apparent one-sided approach favouring Russia.

Ukrainians would prefer to be given enough economic and military support to secure victory.

But in over three years, despite its massive economic superiority to Russia and its access to more advanced military technology, Europe has not found the political will to give Kyiv the means to win.

Until they do, Vladimir Putin may decide it is still worth pursuing this war despite its massive cost in men and materiel on both sides.

“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.

“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”

The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.

But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.

“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.

“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”

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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.

They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.

Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for a coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.

This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.

World

Terror group supporters posted on TikTok from site targeted in Indian airstrikes

Published

3 hours ago

May 10, 2025

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Terror group supporters posted on TikTok from site targeted in Indian airstrikes

Social media accounts expressing support for a Pakistan-based terror group linked to al Qaeda appear to have posted recent videos from a Pakistan mosque targeted by Indian airstrikes.

Sky News has found videos posted on TikTok, YouTube and Google that appear to be filmed at the Markaz Taiba Mosque in Muridke. The captions and usernames contain expressions of support for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and a group called ‘313’.

Sky News has found and geolocated multiple videos that appear to be filmed in the area where the captions include either or both ‘313’ and LeT.

Some of the videos show men in the streets with guns. Another post captioned a video of children doing martial arts training inside the targeted mosque, “we are little soldiers, and we fight the non-believers”.

The caption uses the hashtag #جہاد313, which translates to ‘313’ jihad.

‘313’ appears to refer to the 313 Brigade, a proscribed terror organisation in Pakistan.

In a TikTok video posted to the Google page for Markaz Taiba Mosque in Muridke, a man can be seen walking along the street with a gun.

The account that posted that video wrote in their description, “Lashkar Taiba, Mujahid Force, ‘313’ and Markaz Taiba Muridke”, self-proclaiming their support for the groups.

India’s retaliatory strikes on Pakistani-adminstered Kashmir and Pakistan on 7 May came after a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir last month.

Gunmen opened fire on tourists, killing 26 people and injuring dozens in a popular holiday spot near Pahalgam, Kashmir, on 22 April.

LeT were accused by India of involvement in the Pahalgam attack through their proxy the Resistance Front, which claimed responsibility for the attack.

LeT, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by the UN Security Council and the UK, focuses on fighting Indian control in Kashmir and is based in the Punjab region of Pakistan.

Pakistan denies allegations of terror camps operating in the country. This region has been in the control of the Punjabi government since 2010. The Punjab government condemned the Indian strikes, and declared a state of emergency across Punjab.

Muskan Sangwan, senior intelligence analyst at TRAC, a terrorism research and analysis consortium, told Sky News: “Brigade 313 is al Qaeda in Pakistan. It’s an umbrella organisation for members of several groups like Taliban, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Haqqat ul-Jihad-al-Islami, Jaish-e Muhammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Jundullah.”

Ms Sangwan explained that ‘313’ refers to the number of companions said to have fought with the Prophet Mohammed in the Battle of Badr.

TRAC have seen a recent uptick in TikTok videos and other social media posts that refer to ‘313’.

Many of the accounts are linked to each other.

Ms Sangwan said: “They [the TikTok users] mostly use ‘313’ as a hashtag… trying to push that hashtag to as many people it can reach on social media.”

Sky News sought to verify the location by comparing before and after videos from the strike location, and using the video released by the Indian army conducting the strike.

One video showing damage at the strike location was posted by a user with 313 in their TikTok username.

Below is satellite imagery that shows the destruction of the site.

In one TikTok, the video is captioned “bring your arms and ammunition and go to war”. The text on the screen of the TikTok is ‘313’ and he is carrying a gun.

The group are comfortable with having an online presence. On the Google tag for Markaz Taiba Mosque in Muridke, men pose for a group photo. Almost all the people in the photo have used ‘313’ on TikTok.

Ms Sangwan explained: “With these people from Muridke, pushing this propaganda on social media would generate a lot of significance in terms of recruitment and in terms of gaining support from local people and from other people.”

Sky News’ Asia correspondent Cordelia Lynch has reported on the ground in Muridke.

India says it struck Markaz Taiba, a site in Muridke about 15 miles (25km) from the border, which has long been claimed to be a terrorist training site associated with LeT.

MEMRI, a US-based research group that monitors terrorist threats, told Sky News: “It has been known for decades that Lashkar-e-Taiba has its headquarters in Muridke.”

Sky News contacted the Pakistan Ministry of Defence for comment. Khawaja Asif, Pakistan’s defence minister, told Sky News: “This appears to be a random video with background music added later – consistent with how TikTok trends often function. If this is to be considered credible evidence, we could produce millions of similar clips ourselves.”

Mr Asif also said that any suggestion that the mosque was used as a base by terrorists was a “completely false, social media made up hoax”.

On 7 May, after the strikes in Pakistan, the Indian subcontinent branch of al Qaeda issued a statement condemning India’s actions and encouraging its supporters to wage jihad against India.

The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.