Speaker Johnson's Spending Deal

Can Home Republicans govern in 2024—even slightly—after the misplaced 12 months of 2023? One modestly promising signal is the finances deal that Home Speaker Mike Johnson struck with Democrats over the weekend on federal spending ranges for fiscal 2024.

The settlement largely hews to the debt-ceiling deal of final spring, with just a few further fiscal advantages. Fiscal 2024 discretionary spending (by way of this September) will stay at $1.59 trillion, as specified by statute within the Fiscal Duty Act agreed to by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Biden in Could. That’s a minor victory by itself since Senate appropriators supposed to bust that cap by including one other $14 billion.