Debt-Limit Brinkmanship Looms as Midterms Approach

With midterms looming, Republicans weigh another debt-limit increase, potentially tied to a party-line spending package, as independents warn the U.S. could hit the debt-ceremony deadline (the X-date) within the next year; the White House has floated raising the borrowing cap to about $41 trillion to ease negotiations, while the Treasury could buy time with accounting moves. The live updates also track Rand Paul’s push to compel Fauci to testify and invoke the Fifth Amendment, Senate talks over Todd Blanche’s DOJ confirmation and an IRS-audit-immunity settlement, and momentum on Lindsey Graham’s Russia sanctions bill driven by White House pressure and governor support.