logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2021
14m 32s

With Big Plans And Small Margins, Can De...

NPR
About this episode
Progressives feel as though their job compromising on the $3.5 trillion dollar budget bill is done, while Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema say the package is still too big. Looming over it all, a chance the federal government defaults on its debt as Republicans signal they won't cooperate on raising or suspending the debt ceiling.

This episode: White House correspondent Scott Detrow, congressional correspondent Kelsey Snell, and acting congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh.

Connect:
Subscribe to the NPR Politics Podcast here.
Email the show at nprpolitics@npr.org
Join the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.
Listen to our playlist The NPR Politics Daily Workout.
Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter.
Find and support your local public radio station.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
Up next
Yesterday
How power, corruption & lies influence voters' choices
Overwhelming majorities of voters think that corruption is a problem, according to research from the Brennan Center for Justice. Democrats plan on making allegations of corruption a key part of their midterm strategies, but will that succeed in getting voters' support?This episod ... Show More
15m 30s
Apr 8
What did the United States and Iran just agree to?
In the last day and a half, President Trump threatened to wipe out Iranian “civilization,” then announced a two-week ceasefire. We discuss what we know about the terms the United States and Iran are negotiating, and where things go from here.This episode: senior political corresp ... Show More
19m 8s
Jul 28
This Senate race may shape the Democrats' future
The Democratic Party's progressive and moderate wings are squaring off in Michigan as voters decide who the party's nominee for an open Senate seat will be. We look at the race and why it is reflective of broader debates in the party about policy, politics and more.This episode: ... Show More
17m 21s
Recommended Episodes
May 2023
Kevin McCarthy’s Debt Ceiling Dilemma
<p>Last week, Speaker Kevin McCarthy persuaded Republicans to narrowly pass a bill to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, setting up high-stakes negotiations with the Biden administration.</p><p>Catie Edmondson, who covers Congress for The New York Times, explains the risks this might p ... Show More
21m 59s
May 2023
Playing chicken with the debt ceiling
<p><br></p><p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Congress and President Biden have five weeks to strike a deal on raising the debt ceiling, according to a new projection from the Treasury Department. Otherwise, the country will need to brace for an ... Show More
19m 29s
Mar 2023
Congress Won’t Let The US Default on Its Debt. Right?
The White House and Congress are battling over raising the nation’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling. If they don’t act and the US defaults on its debt this summer, the economic shockwaves will be felt across the nation and around the world. Even so, the conventional wisdom in many pa ... Show More
26m 10s
Sep 2021
Big Climate Policies Hang in Limbo
With several major deadlines looming, U.S. lawmakers remain divided on how to move forward with the bipartisan infrastructure bill and Democrats’ larger $3.5 billion spending package — both of which contain critical funding and programs to fight climate change and promote clean e ... Show More
36m 35s
Apr 2023
McCarthy Takes on Biden Over Debt Ceiling
Congress and the Biden administration are once again at loggerheads over a potential debt ceiling crisis – and the possibility of defaulting on its debt for the first time in the United States’ history. CNN Political Director David Chalian breaks down Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s spe ... Show More
10m 25s
May 2023
The Ticking Clock of a U.S. Debt Default
<p>Top White House officials and Republican lawmakers are racing to reach an agreement as the date when the United States is projected to default on its debt approaches.</p><p>Jim Tankersley, who covers the White House for The New York Times, looks at the state of the negotiation ... Show More
32m 58s
Jul 2025
The Republicans’ $3 Trillion Vanishing Act
<p>With a tiebreaking vote from Vice President JD Vance, the Senate has adopted President Trump’s giant domestic policy bill, which now heads back to the House for a final vote.</p><p>The legislation is defined by the staggering amount of debt it will create: more than $3 trillio ... Show More
27m 10s
Dec 2021
Dec. 6, 2021: Return of the debt ceiling drama
Congress’ holiday season theme of governing by crisis continues this week, as lawmakers return to Washington to address what could be the trickiest issue of the month: the debt ceiling.House Democratic leaders have discussed adding a provision addressing the debt ceiling to the f ... Show More
5m 6s