Politics

By Moira Warburton, Katharine Jackson and Gram Slattery

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – After tough negotiations to reach a tentative deal with the White House on the U.S. borrowing limit, the next challenge for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is pushing it through the House, where it may be opposed by both hardline Republicans and progressive Democrats.

As Democratic and Republican negotiators iron out the final details of an agreement to suspend the federal government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling in coming days, McCarthy may be forced to do some behind-the-scenes wrangling.

A failure by Congress to deal with its self-imposed debt ceiling before June 5 could trigger a default that would shake financial markets and send the United States into a deep recession.

Republicans control the House by 222-213, while Democrats control the Senate by 51-49. These margins mean that moderates from both sides will have to support the bill, as any compromise will almost definitely lose the support of the far left and far right wings of each party.

To win the speaker’s gavel, McCarthy agreed to enable any single member to call for a vote to unseat him, which could lead to his ouster if he seeks to work with Democrats.

Hours before the deal was announced, some hardline Republicans balked at McCarthy cooperating with the White House.

“If Speaker’s negotiators bring back in substance a clean debt limit increase … one so large that it even protects Biden from the issue in the presidential …, it’s war,” Representative Dan Bishop, a Freedom Caucus member, tweeted. 

The deal does just that, sources briefed on it say: it suspends the debt ceiling until January 2025, after the November 2024 presidential election, in exchange for caps on spending and cuts in government programs.

Bishop and other hardline Republicans were sharply critical of early deal details that suggest Biden has pushed back successfully on several cost-cutting demands on Saturday, signaling McCarthy may have an issue getting votes.

“Utter capitulation in progress. By the side holding the cards,” Bishop said.

Progressive Democrats in both chambers have said they would not support any deal that has additional work requirements. This deal does, sources say, adding work requirements to food aid for people aged 50 to 54.

The deal would boost spending on the military and veterans’ care, and cap it for many discretionary domestic programs, according to sources familiar with the talks. But Republicans and Democrats will need to battle over which ones in the months to come, as the deal doesn’t specify them.

Republicans have rejected Biden’s proposed tax increases, and neither side has shown a willingness to take on the fast-growing health and retirement programs that will drive up debt sharply in the coming years.

Several credit-rating agencies have said they have put the United States on review for a possible downgrade, which would push up borrowing costs and undercut its standing as the backbone of the global financial system.

(Reporting by Moira Warburton in Washington; Editing by Heather Timmons and Kim Coghill)

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By Moira Warburton, Katharine Jackson and Gram Slattery

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -After tough negotiations to reach a tentative deal with the White House on the U.S. borrowing limit, the next challenge for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is pushing it through the House, where hardline Republicans are already threatening to sink it.

As Democratic and Republican negotiators iron out the final details of an agreement to suspend the federal government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling in coming days, McCarthy may be forced to do some behind-the-scenes wrangling.

“We’re going to try” to stop it from passing the House, Representative Chip Roy, a prominent member of the hardline House Freedom Caucus, said on Twitter. House and Senate Republicans were critical of the deal’s time frame and emerging terms.

A failure by Congress to deal with its self-imposed debt ceiling before June 5 could trigger a default that would shake financial markets and send the United States into a deep recession.

Republicans control the House 222-213, while Democrats control the Senate 51-49. These margins mean that moderates from both sides will have to support the bill, as any compromise will almost definitely lose the support of the far left and far right wings of each party.

To win the speaker’s gavel, McCarthy agreed to enable any single member to call for a vote to unseat him, which could lead to his ouster if he seeks to work with Democrats.

Roy complained on Twitter on Sunday that the agreement would leave intact an expansion of the tax-collecting Internal Revenue Service set in place when Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress.

Senator Lindsey Graham also expressed concern about the deal’s potential effect on U.S. defense and Washington’s support for Ukraine.

“Do not intend to default on debt, but will not support a deal that reduces the size of the Navy and prevents continued technological and weapons assistance to Ukraine,” Graham tweeted.

“Punting at your opponent’s one-yard line isn’t a winning strategy,” Republican Senator Mike Lee said on Twitter.

The deal suspends the debt ceiling until January 2025, after the November 2024 presidential election, in exchange for caps on spending and cuts in government programs.

Representative Dan Bishop and other hardline Republicans were sharply critical of early deal details that suggest Biden has pushed back successfully on several cost-cutting demands on Saturday, signaling that McCarthy may have an issue getting votes.

“Utter capitulation in progress. By the side holding the cards,” Bishop said.

Progressive Democrats in both chambers have said they would not support any deal that has additional work requirements. This deal does, sources say, adding work requirements to food aid for people aged 50 to 54.

The deal would boost spending on the military and veterans’ care, and cap it for many discretionary domestic programs, according to sources familiar with the talks. But Republicans and Democrats will need to battle over which ones in the months to come, as the deal doesn’t specify them.

Republicans have rejected Biden’s proposed tax increases, and neither side has shown a willingness to take on the fast-growing health and retirement programs that will drive up debt sharply in the coming years.

Several credit-rating agencies have put the United States on review for a possible downgrade, which would push up borrowing costs and undercut its standing as the backbone of the global financial system.

(Reporting by Moira Warburton in Washington; Editing by Heather Timmons, Kim Coghill and Mark Porter)

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By Steve Holland, Gram Slattery and Katharine Jackson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy reached a tentative deal to raise the federal government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling on Saturday evening, ending a months-long stalemate.

However, the deal was announced without any celebration, in terms that reflected the bitter tenor of the negotiations and the difficult path it has to pass through Congress before the United States runs out of money to pay its debts in early June.

“I just got off the phone with the president a bit ago. After he wasted time and refused to negotiate for months, we’ve come to an agreement in principle that is worthy of the American people,” McCarthy tweeted.

Biden called the deal “an important step forward” in a statement, saying: “The agreement represents a compromise, which means not everyone gets what they want. That’s the responsibility of governing.”  

The deal would raise the debt limit for two years while capping spending over that time, claw back unused COVID funds, speed up the permitting process for some energy projects and includes some extra work requirements for food aid programs for poor Americans.

Biden and McCarthy held a 90-minute phone call earlier on Saturday evening to discuss the deal, with McCarthy planning to brief his members later in the evening.

“We still have more work to do tonight to finish the writing of it,” McCarthy told reporters on Capitol Hill. McCarthy said he expects to finish writing the bill Sunday, then speak to Biden and have a vote on the deal on Wednesday.

“It has historic reductions in spending, consequential reforms that will lift people out of poverty into the workforce, rein in government overreach – there are no new taxes, no new government programs,” he said.

Negotiators have agreed to cap non-defense discretionary spending at 2023 levels for one year and increase it by 1% in 2025, a source familiar with the deal said.

The deal will avert an economically destabilizing default, so long as they succeed in passing it through the narrowly divided Congress before the Treasury Department runs short of money to cover all its obligations, which it warned Friday will occur if the debt ceiling is not raised by June 5.

Biden and McCarthy have to carefully thread the needle in finding a compromise that can clear the House, with a 222-213 Republican majority, and Senate, with a 51-49 Democratic majority.

Republicans who control the House of Representatives have pushed for steep cuts to spending and other conditions, and were sharply critical of the deal as some details were reported in recent days.

Republican Representative Bob Good, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, tweeted that he was “hearing” the deal would raise the debt by $4 trillion, and added “IF that is true, I don’t need to hear anything else. No one claiming to be a conservative could justify a YES vote.”

North Carolina’s Dan Bishop described the deal earlier Saturday as “utter capitulation in progress. By the side holding the cards.”

One high-ranking member of the House Freedom Caucus said they were in the process of gauging member sentiment, and unsure what the vote numbers might be.

TAXES VS. SPENDING CUTS

Republicans say they want to cut spending to slow the growth of the U.S. debt, which is now roughly equal to the annual output of the country’s economy. Biden and Democrats have pushed to increase taxes on the wealthy and companies to shrink the debt.

The long standoff on raising the debt ceiling spooked financial markets, weighing on stocks and forcing the United States to pay record-high interest rates in some bond sales. A default would take a far heavier toll, economists say, likely pushing the nation into recession, shaking the world economy and leading to a spike in unemployment.

Biden for months refused to negotiate with McCarthy over future spending cuts, demanding that lawmakers first pass a “clean” debt-ceiling increase free of other conditions, and present a 2024 budget proposal to counter his issued in March. Two-way negotiations between Biden and McCarthy began in earnest on May 16.

The work to raise the debt ceiling is far from done. McCarthy has vowed to give House members 72 hours to read the legislation before bringing it to the floor for a vote. That will test whether enough moderate members support the compromises in the bill to overcome opposition from both hard-right Republicans and progressive Democrats.

Then it will need to pass the Senate, where it will need at least nine Republican votes to succeed. There are multiple opportunities in each chamber along the way to slow down the process.

(Reporting by Moira Warburton, Steve Holland and Katharine Jackson; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone, Frances Kerry, Daniel Wallis, Heather Timmons, Dave Gregotio, Chizu Nomiyama)

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By Steve Holland, Gram Slattery and Katharine Jackson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy have reached a tentative deal to raise the federal government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, ending a months-long stalemate.

However, the deal was described in terms that indicated it may not be absolute, and without any celebration — an indication of the bitter tenor of the negotiations, and the difficult path it has to pass through Congress before the United States runs out of money to pay its debts in early June.

“I just got off the phone with the president a bit ago. After he wasted time and refused to negotiate for months, we’ve come to an agreement in principle that is worthy of the American people,” McCarthy tweeted.

The deal would raise the debt limit for two years while capping spending over that time, and includes some extra work requirements for programs for the poor.

Biden and McCarthy held a 90-minute phone call earlier on Saturday evening to discuss the deal.

“We still have more work to do tonight to finish the writing of it,” McCarthy told reporters on Capitol Hill. McCarthy said he expects to finish writing the bill Sunday, then speak to Biden and have a vote on the deal on Wednesday.

The deal will avert an economically destabilizing default, so long as they succeed in passing it through the narrowly divided Congress before the Treasury Department runs short of money to cover all its obligations, which it warned Friday will occur if the debt ceiling is not raised by June 5.

Republicans who control the House of Representatives have pushed for steep cuts to spending and other conditions, including new work requirements on some benefit programs for low-income Americans and for funds to be stripped from the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. tax agency.

They said they want to slow the growth of the U.S. debt, which is now roughly equal to the annual output of the country’s economy.

Negotiators have agreed to cap non-defense discretionary spending at 2023 levels for one year and increase it by 1% in 2025, sources said.

The two sides have to carefully thread the needle in finding a compromise that can clear the House, with a 222-213 Republican majority, and Senate, with a 51-49 Democratic majority.

One high-ranking member of the hardline House Freedom Caucus said they were in the process of gauging member sentiment, and unsure what the vote numbers might be.

The long standoff spooked financial markets, weighing on stocks and forcing the United States to pay record-high interest rates in some bond sales. A default would take a far heavier toll, economists say, likely pushing the nation into recession, shaking the world economy and leading to a spike in unemployment.

Biden for months refused to negotiate with McCarthy over future spending cuts, demanding that lawmakers first pass a “clean” debt-ceiling increase free of other conditions, and present a 2024 budget proposal to counter his issued in March. Two-way negotiations between Biden and McCarthy began in earnest on May 16.

Democrats accused Republicans of playing a dangerous game of brinkmanship with the economy. Republicans say recent increased government spending is fueling the growth of the U.S. debt, which is now roughly equal to the annual output of the economy.

The last time the nation got this close to default was in 2011, when Washington also had a Democratic president and Senate and a Republican-led House.

Congress eventually averted default, but the economy endured heavy shocks, including the first-ever downgrade of the United States’ top-tier credit rating and a major stock sell-off.

The work to raise the debt ceiling is far from done. McCarthy has vowed to give House members 72 hours to read the legislation before bringing it to the floor for a vote. That will test whether enough moderate members support the compromises in the bill to overcome opposition from both hard-right Republicans and progressive Democrats.

Then it will need to pass the Senate, where it will need at least nine Republican votes to succeed. There are multiple opportunities in each chamber along the way to slow down the process.

The two sides had struggled to find common ground on spending levels. Republicans had pushed for an 8% cut to discretionary spending in the next fiscal year, followed by annual increases of 1% for several years.

Biden had proposed keeping spending flat in the 2024 fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1, and raising it 1% the year after that. He also had called for closing some tax loopholes, which Republicans rejected.

(Reporting by Moira Warburton, Steve Holland and Katharine Jackson; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone, Frances Kerry, Daniel Wallis, Heather Timmons)

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By Brad Brooks and Maria Caspani

LUBBOCK, Texas (Reuters) -The Texas House on Saturday voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, a conservative firebrand and ally of former President Donald Trump who has been accused by his fellow Republicans of abuse of office.

In historic proceedings, the 149-member House voted 121-23 to impeach Paxton after hours of debate during which the chamber heard speeches from supporters and opponents of impeachment. Two members were present but not voting while three were absent.

Paxton will now be temporarily removed from office pending a trial in the Senate, where his wife, Angela Paxton, is a senator. The Texas Senate is in recess until 1 p.m. CDT (1800 GMT) on Sunday, according to its website.

Paxton has denied the accusations and denounced the proceedings as “illegal, unethical, and profoundly unjust” in a statement on Twitter after Saturday’s vote.

“I look forward to a quick resolution in the Texas Senate, where I have full confidence the process will be fair and just,” he said.

In a message on his social media channel Truth Social ahead of the vote, Trump, who is seeking re-election in 2024, vowed to “fight” Texas House Republicans if Paxton were to be impeached.

The 20 articles of impeachment presented by a Republican-led House committee accuse Paxton of improperly aiding a wealthy political donor, conducting a sham investigation against whistleblowers in his office whom he fired, and covering up his wrongdoing in a separate federal securities fraud case against him, among other offenses.

Paxton’s impeachment proceedings laid bare the rift among Texas Republicans. Some spoke passionately in support of impeaching the state’s top law enforcement official.

“Attorney General Paxton continuously and blatantly violated laws, rules, policies and procedures,” Representative David Spiller said ahead of the vote.

Others vehemently opposed it. John Smithee, a long-serving conservative member of the chamber, said he was not speaking in Paxton’s defense but criticized the process and said there was insufficient evidence.

“There is not word, not one sentence in the testimony before you that would be admissible in any Texas court of law,” Smithee said. “It is hearsay within hearsay within hearsay.”

Paxton has staked out a position on the far right on divisive cultural issues. He has sued the Biden administration nearly 50 times attempting to halt what has he labeled as “unlawful tyrannical policies” on issues including immigration, gun rights and business regulation.

The five-member Texas House General Investigating Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to recommend that Paxton be impeached and removed from office.

Paxton easily won re-election last year after fending off a Republican primary challenge from George P. Bush, a scion of two former presidents.

The committee has heard testimony from its investigators about several years of alleged abuse of office by Paxton, including that he provided friend and donor Nate Paul, a Texas real estate developer, with FBI files related to the bureau’s investigation into Paul.

The impeachment articles also allege Paxton engaged in bribery when Paul hired a woman with whom Paxton was having an extramarital affair.

(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Lubbock, Texas, Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California, and Maria Caspani in New York; Editing by Tom Hogue, David Gregorio and Daniel Wallis)

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(This May 26 story has been corrected to remove the incorrect reference to Fargo as the state capital, in paragraph 2)

By Nathan Layne

(Reuters) – North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum is planning to enter the 2024 presidential race, joining a growing field of candidates hoping to topple Donald Trump and secure the Republican nomination, according to a person familiar with his plans.

Burgum, who is serving his second term as the sparsely populated state’s top official, is expected to launch his campaign with an announcement on June 7 in Fargo, the person said. The governor’s office declined to comment.

Burgum, 66, built a successful software business before selling it to Microsoft Corp in 2001. A proponent of low taxes and fewer regulations, he will likely seek to portray himself as a traditional conservative who will focus on the economy and national security, the person familiar with his plans said.

Jeanette Hoffman, a Republican political consultant, described Burgum as a long shot for the nomination, but said he has a compelling personal story and represents a steady hand who could appeal to those tired of the chaos of Trump.

“Right now, GOP primary voters are like, ‘Who?’” she said. “But this could be an open field and he has a story to tell.”

An expanding field of Republicans are vying for the chance to take on President Joe Biden, who is expected to win the Democratic nomination for a second term but is seen as vulnerable amid economic headwinds and low approval ratings.

Reuters/Ipsos polling conducted on May 9-15 showed Trump is backed by 49% of Republicans, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a distant second place at 19%. They were followed by former Vice President Mike Pence with 5% and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley on 4%, the poll showed.

Burgum, who won re-election in 2020 with more than two thirds of the vote, last month signed one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the country, joining a conservative push to limit access to the procedure in many states. He also signed into law the largest income tax cut in state history.

(Reporting by Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut, and Jason Lange in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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By Moira Warburton and Katharine Jackson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic and Republican negotiators said they were hopeful of reaching a deal to raise the federal government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and avert a disastrous default, with talks expected to resume on Saturday.

Time is tight. The Treasury Department on Friday said the government would run short of funds to pay all its bills on June 5 without congressional action, a slightly later but firmer deadline than its prior forecast of default as early as June 1.

And any deal in principle between Democratic President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy will be the start of what could easily be a week-long process of shepherding legislation through the narrowly and bitterly divided Congress.

Hardline Republicans in the House of Representatives have threatened to block any bill that does not meet their expectations, including sharp spending cuts.

Progressive Democrats have also threatened to withhold support for some of the compromises raised, particularly around imposing new work requirements on federal anti-poverty programs.

“It’s very close and I’m optimistic,” Biden told reporters on Friday.

Republican negotiator Patrick McHenry said he concurred with Biden, although he said more negotiations were needed.

“I’m hopeful,” he told reporters late Friday. “I’ve rarely used that term in the last 12 days.”

Republicans control the House by a 222-213 margin, while Democrats hold a 51-49 Senate majority, leaving a narrow path to pass any agreement by the Democratic president and Republican speaker into law.

Republicans have sought to sharply curb government spending over the coming 10 years in order to slow the growth of the U.S. debt, which is now equal to the annual output of the economy.

But the tentative agreement would likely fall well short of their goal.

The two sides have tentatively reached an agreement that would raise the debt ceiling by enough to cover the country’s borrowing needs through the November 2024 presidential election.

It would boost spending on the military and veterans’ care, and cap it for many discretionary domestic programs, according to sources familiar with the talks.

STICKING POINTS

Republicans have rejected Biden’s proposed tax increases, and neither side has shown a willingness to take on the fast-growing health and retirement programs that will drive up debt sharply in the coming years.

Biden’s signature infrastructure and green-energy laws would remain intact, while the Internal Revenue Service would see its recent budget increase scaled back slightly.

But safety-net programs remain a sticking point. Republicans want to stiffen work requirements for the Medicaid health plan for the poor and the SNAP food assistance program. Democrats say that would create more barriers for people who are already struggling to make ends meet.

Both programs expanded dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic but have been scaled back in recent months.

A failure by Congress to raise its self-imposed debt ceiling before June 5 could trigger a default that would shake financial markets and send the United States into a deep recession.

Several credit-rating agencies have said they have put the United States on review for a possible downgrade, which would push up borrowing costs and undercut its standing as the backbone of the global financial system.

A similar 2011 standoff led Standard & Poor’s to downgrade its rating on U.S. debt, hammering markets and sending the government’s borrowing costs higher.

(Reporting by Moira Warburton and Katharine Jackson; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone and Frances Kerry)

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By Brad Brooks

LUBBOCK, Texas (Reuters) – The Texas House is scheduled to vote on Saturday whether to impeach state Attorney General Ken Paxton, a conservative firebrand and ally of former President Donald Trump who has been accused by his fellow Republicans of abuse of office.

Debate is set to start at 1 p.m. CDT (1800 GMT). If impeached, Paxton would be removed from office pending a trial in the Senate, where his wife, Angela Paxton, is a senator. A two-thirds Senate vote is needed to permanently expel him.

The 20 articles of impeachment accuse Paxton of improperly aiding a wealthy political donor, conducting a sham investigation against whisteblowers in his office whom he fired, and covering up his wrongdoing in a separate federal securities fraud case against him, among other offenses.

Paxton has denied the charges and on Friday lashed out against his critics, saying that removing him from office would be a gift for President Joe Biden and his Democratic agenda.

Staking out a position on the far right on divisive cultural issues, Paxton has sued the Biden administration nearly 50 times attempting to halt what has he labeled as “unlawful tyrannical policies” on issues including immigration, gun rights and business regulation.

The five-member Texas House General Investigating Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to recommend that Paxton be impeached and removed from office.

“They are showcasing their absolute contempt for the electoral process. Every politician who supports this deceitful impeachment attempt will inflict lasting damage on the credibility of the Texas House,” said Paxton, who easily won reelection last year after fending off a Republican primary challenge from George P. Bush, a scion of two former presidents.

The committee has heard testimony from its investigators about several years of alleged abuse of office by Paxton, including that he provided friend and donor Nate Paul, a Texas real estate developer, with FBI files related to the bureau’s investigation into Paul.

The impeachment articles also allege Paxton engaged in bribery when Paul hired a woman with whom Paxton was having an extramarital affair.

(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Lubbock, Texas, and Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Editing by Tom Hogue)

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By Moira Warburton and Katharine Jackson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A lead Republican negotiator in the talks with President Joe Biden’s administration to raise the U.S. federal government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and avoid a disastrous default told reporters that thorny issues remained on Saturday.

Time is tight. The Treasury Department on Friday said the government would run short of funds to pay all its bills on June 5 without congressional action, a slightly later but firmer deadline than its prior forecast of default as early as June 1.

And any deal in principle between Democratic President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy will be the start of what could easily be a week-long process of shepherding legislation through the narrowly and bitterly divided Congress.

“These are tough things. This is not how I anticipated the final hours and days would go. But we’re getting to a very narrow set of issues that has to be dealt with,” said Representative Patrick McHenry, adding that a major focus for Republicans remained spending cuts. “You can’t get there if you don’t deal with the thorny issues in a reasonable way.”

Hardline Republicans in the House of Representatives have threatened to block any bill that does not meet their expectations, including sharp spending cuts.

Progressive Democrats have also threatened to withhold support for some of the compromises raised, particularly around imposing new work requirements on federal anti-poverty programs.

“It’s very close and I’m optimistic,” Biden told reporters on Friday.

Republicans control the House by a 222-213 margin, while Democrats hold a 51-49 Senate majority, leaving a narrow path to pass any agreement by the Democratic president and Republican speaker into law.

Republicans have sought to sharply curb government spending over the coming 10 years in order to slow the growth of the U.S. debt, which is now equal to the annual output of the economy.

But the tentative agreement would likely fall well short of their goal.

The two sides have tentatively reached an agreement that would raise the debt ceiling by enough to cover the country’s borrowing needs through the November 2024 presidential election.

It would boost spending on the military and veterans’ care, and cap it for many discretionary domestic programs, according to sources familiar with the talks.

STICKING POINTS

Republicans have rejected Biden’s proposed tax increases, and neither side has shown a willingness to take on the fast-growing health and retirement programs that will drive up debt sharply in the coming years.

Biden’s signature infrastructure and green-energy laws would remain intact, while the Internal Revenue Service would see its recent budget increase scaled back slightly.

But safety-net programs remain a sticking point. Republicans want to stiffen work requirements for the Medicaid health plan for the poor and the SNAP food assistance program. Democrats say that would create more barriers for people who are already struggling to make ends meet.

Both programs expanded dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic but have been scaled back in recent months.

A failure by Congress to raise its self-imposed debt ceiling before June 5 could trigger a default that would shake financial markets and send the United States into a deep recession.

Several credit-rating agencies have said they have put the United States on review for a possible downgrade, which would push up borrowing costs and undercut its standing as the backbone of the global financial system.

A similar 2011 standoff led Standard & Poor’s to downgrade its rating on U.S. debt, hammering markets and sending the government’s borrowing costs higher.

(Reporting by Moira Warburton and Katharine JacksonWriting by Andy SullivanEditing by Scott Malone and Frances Kerry)

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By Julia Harte

(Reuters) – A South Carolina judge on Friday temporarily blocked the state’s new law that bans most abortions after about six weeks, ruling that it should be considered by the state Supreme Court before taking effect.

State Circuit Judge Clifton Newman granted reproductive rights groups’ motion to block the legislation, which Republican Governor Henry McMaster signed into law on Thursday. The judge’s ruling allows a previous law permitting abortions up to around 22 weeks to stay in effect until the state’s highest court has reviewed the new ban, according to local media reports.

If the measure survives court challenges, it will cut off a flow of women from nearby southern states with more restrictive abortion laws who have been coming to South Carolina for care since the U.S. Supreme Court revoked federal abortion rights in June 2022.

The six-week abortion ban blocked on Friday is a revised version of another measure that the state Supreme Court struck down in a 3-2 decision in January, saying it violated the right to privacy enshrined in the state’s constitution.

One of the Supreme Court justices in the majority on that decision has since retired, leaving it unclear how the court will rule on the new measure.

Republican state lawmakers defending the bill said in legislative hearings this week that the measure remedied the errors that caused the state Supreme Court to strike down its predecessor.

“I hope that the Supreme Court will take this matter up without delay,” McMaster said in a Twitter post on Friday, vowing to “continue fighting to protect the lives of the unborn.”

A spokesperson for Planned Parenthood, one of the groups that sued to block the new law, celebrated the judge’s ruling.

“This is good news for the women of SC today,” wrote Vicki Ringer in a Twitter post.

Opponents of the six-week ban, including three female Republican state lawmakers, said it would increase illegal abortions by not giving pregnant people sufficient time to get them legally.

“We in the South Carolina legislature are not God, we do not know what is going on in someone else’s life, we do not have the right to make decisions for someone else,” said Republican state Senator Katrina Shealy during a Tuesday debate on the measure.

If upheld by the state Supreme Court, the six-week ban would allow abortions up to 12 weeks in cases of rape and incest, and provide an exception for medical emergencies.

(Reporting by Julia Harte; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Frances Kerry)

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