Debt ceiling negotiations remain at a standstill.

Negotiations between President Biden and House Republicans over the debt ceiling are unlikely to produce any agreement that would significantly alter federal spending in the next decade. Republicans have focused on cutting nondefense discretionary spending, which accounts for less than 15% of the government's expected spending this year and is projected to shrink over the next decade. Safety-net programs Social Security and Medicare, which are facing increasing payouts as the American population ages, have been deemed off-limits by Republicans. Even if Republicans were able to persuade Biden to accept the full round of discretionary spending cuts, it would do little to alter the nation's overall spending trajectory over the next decade.