McCarthy Struggles to Unite GOP Amid Looming Debt Crisis

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is struggling to unite the Republican majority around a spending plan to avert a catastrophic default on the nation's debt. McCarthy has little trust in his Budget Committee chairman, Jodey Arrington, or his No. 2, Steve Scalise, and has turned to allies who helped him win the speakership for his most sensitive assignments and advice. The tensions between McCarthy and his budget chief are just one element of a toxic dynamic in the upper echelons of House Republican leadership that could make it even more difficult to bring together the fractious conference as McCarthy faces off against President Biden.