A near-default in 2011 had severe consequences: The stock market turned volatile, bond prices rose and the U.S. AAA credit rating was downgraded.
Author: Ledyard King, USA TODAY
Senators say they’ve reached agreement with White House on a roughly $1.2T bipartisan infrastructure ‘framework’
Even with the bipartisan agreement, Democrats are proceeding on a separate measure including pillars of Biden’s $1.8 trillion American Families Plan.
Joe Manchin suddenly seems to influence everything Washington does. The West Virginia senator says he wants to make Congress ‘work again’
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has been given many labels: an obstacle to progress, defender of the status quo. So who is he?: “Not those people,” he says.
Republicans tell Buttigieg that Biden’s infrastructure bill should focus on roads, rail, ports – not climate or social justice
Biden is expected to unveil the initial pieces of his economic agenda next week in Pittsburgh, which includes a $3 trillion infrastructure component.
Deb Haaland makes history as first Native American Cabinet member after Senate confirmation
For more than 171 years, the federal agency responsible for managing the U.S.’s relationship with tribes has never had a Native American at its helm.
Restaurants, bars decimated by pandemic getting billions from Biden’s COVID-19 stimulus bill
Restaurants, bars and live venues took a major hit when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. The stimulus bill Biden signed devotes billions to them.
Democrats want to send $350B to cities and states with Biden’s COVID stimulus bill, but Republicans see it as wasteful
President Joe Biden’s COVID stimulus bill includes $350 billion for state and local governments, but Republicans say it’s wasteful and unfair.
Democrats left scrambling on a $15 minimum wage now that it appears left out of COVID-19 stimulus bill
Thirty-one states have a minimum wage law below $10. No state has a minimum wage at $15 or above, though the District of Columbia does.
Kamala Harris has already broken 2 Senate ties on COVID relief. She could give Democrats more victories in the future
In her first month in office, Vice President Kamala Harris has broken more Senate ties than Teddy Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Walter Mondale.
The filibuster may make it difficult for Joe Biden to pass his agenda – even in a Democratic Congress. Here’s why
Biden could issue a plethora of orders but a flurry of top-down edicts would undermine his call for bipartisan unity and his respect for Congress.