(WASHINGTON) -- Former Vice President Mike Pence will announce next week that he is running for president, giving a kickoff speech in Iowa and releasing a campaign video on June 7 ahead of a town hall with CNN later that day in Des Moines, a source familiar confirms to ABC News.
Pence will be running against his old boss, Donald Trump, in the Republican primary.
His expected announcement will come only weeks after a group of conservative allies launched a political group to support his potential candidacy.
The super PAC, Committed to America, hopes to both "reintroduce" Pence to voters -- who, the group believes, don't have a full sense of the former vice president -- and to catch the attention of voters perhaps stuck on other candidates as the list of Republican hopefuls grows longer.
"People know Mike Pence, they just don't know him well," co-chair Scott Reed told a small group of reporters on Friday. "This campaign is going to reintroduce Mike Pence to the country as his own man, not as vice president, but as a true economic, social and national security conservative -- a Reagan conservative."
The pro-Pence group said it will make significant investments in Iowa, a state critical for Republicans as it holds the first nominating contest next year.
"We're going to organize Iowa, all 99 counties, like we're running him for county sheriff," said Reed, who previously managed Sen. Bob Dole's 1996 presidential campaign.
In March, during an exclusive interview with ABC News' chief Washington correspondent, Jonathan Karl, Pence said he was giving a run for the 2024 GOP nomination "serious consideration."
At the time and in the ensuing months, Pence has held voter-facing events in the early states of Iowa and New Hampshire. He also published a memoir, "So Help Me God," in November.
"We're getting a lot of encouragement, not only here in Iowa, but all across the country," Pence told Karl in March. "We're giving prayerful consideration to what role we might play."
A key ally for Trump while they were in office, Pence has since had a notable falling out with the former president over Trump's push to overturn their election loss -- climaxing in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, when a mob of Trump supporters breached the complex and sent Pence and Congress into hiding.
"We all face the judgment of history, and I believe in the fullness of time that history will hold Donald Trump accountable for the events of Jan. 6, as it will other people that were involved," Pence told Karl.
He added then: "I also think the American people will also have their say. I mean, the president is now a candidate for office again, he's running for election, but as I go around the country, I'm convinced the American people have learned the lessons of that day."
(WASHINGTON) -- Work requirements for government safety net programs are back in the spotlight as the House readies for a key vote on the debt ceiling deal brokered by President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
In a twist, a new analysis from the Congressional Budget Office released late Tuesday found tougher rules for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that Republicans demanded would actually increase the number of people eligible for benefits, sometimes referred to as food stamps.
The nonpartisan agency estimated the provisions relating to SNAP would add $2.1 billion in direct spending and 78,000 people would gain benefits in an average month.
Top Republicans are calling the CBO report flat-out inaccurate, and McCarthy suggested the agency "double counted" some recipients already exempt from work requirements.
"The estimates are wrong. They're just wrong," Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., said in a news conference Wednesday alongside his fellow GOP negotiator Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina.
The CBO has not commented on the criticism from Republicans.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, on the other hand, said the CBO development "speaks for itself" as he criticized Republicans for making them one of the focal points in the debt ceiling agreement.
"In terms of the so-called work requirements, which by the way have been in law since 1996, this was a phony, fake talking point injected unnecessarily into this discussion," Jeffries said at his own news conference alongside House Democratic leadership.
Imposing stricter eligibility rules for SNAP and other federal assistance programs was a major sticking point that held up negotiations even as talks stretched closer to the potential default date. At one point, McCarthy described their inclusion in a final deal as a "red line" for Republicans.
At the same time, progressive Democrats warned of pushback if stricter work requirements were included. Progressive Whip Greg Casar told ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott he was leaning no on Wednesday's vote to approve the bill for that exact reason.
"Many progressives, including me, lean no because the bill does contain taking some folks like 53 and 54 year olds off of their food stamps," Casar, D-Texas, said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., told ABC's Scott that she won't vote yes on the bill because she it's up to Republicans to "own this vote."
"They're the ones trying to come in and cut SNAP," she said. "They're trying to come and cut environmental protections."
Republicans won some changes to SNAP and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) but their demand for stricter requirements for recipients of Medicaid and Medicare were taken off the table.
The Fiscal Responsibility Act would increase the age limit for work requirements on able-bodied adults without dependents from 49 to 54 by 2025, though the provision would expire by 2030.
The legislation also includes new exemptions for veterans, people experiencing homelessness and people ages 18 to 24 who are aging out of the foster care system.
Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young said Tuesday the Biden administration was waiting for a USDA analysis on the impact of the SNAP changes, but believed the number of those now exempted would be about the same as those subject to work requirements.
"There's a very real possibility, when we see the numbers, that the number who are phased in, who have new requirements on SNAP, is offset by the number who will now be covered under the new exemptions," she said at the White House press briefing.
McHenry defended the new exemptions in his presser with Graves, calling them "thoughtful public policy" and highlighted the bill would cut down the cap for the population states can exempt from work requirements from 12% to 8%.
But the CBO score only added to the furor to the growing number of House Republicans who are opposed to the debt ceiling deal.
"Don't really want to hear how CBO is wrong on SNAP [because] CBO did this bill a lot of favors, and it's still a bad deal," Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., wrote on Twitter.
"The Biden-McCarthy deal expands welfare," Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., tweeted. "Heckuva negotiation, guys."
(WASHINGTON) -- Despite calling for a ban on foreign lobbying, in which Americans lobby lawmakers and the public for foreign interests, Republican 2024 presidential hopeful Nikki Haley has raised tens of thousands of dollars in political donations from foreign lobbyists, disclosure reports show.
The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. under the Trump administration, Haley has recently been campaigning on her opposition to foreign lobbying, saying that embassies -- and not private consultants or lobbyist agents -- should represent foreign interests in the U.S.
Banning foreign lobbying has been part of her stump speech against aid to foreign countries, especially money she suggests is going to countries whose interests seem to be at odds with those of the United States.
"The first thing we have to do is stop giving money to countries that hate America," Haley said during a town hall in Iowa in April.
"All these lobbyists that get paid from foreign entities to lobby Congress -- outlaw all foreign lobbying whatsoever," Haley said. "That's what embassies are for."
She then took it to Twitter the next day, writing, "Ban all foreign lobbying."
Later in the month, she told a town hall in New Hampshire, "We will stop lobbyists, foreign lobbyists, in our country. That's what embassies are for. We are not going to allow Americans to lobby for foreign countries. If an ambassador wants something, an ambassador can ask for it, but no more lobbying of Congress for foreign entities."
But Haley's rhetoric hasn't stopped her from raising funds from supporters that are currently or formerly registered agents working for foreign entities. Under United States FARA laws, as part of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, individuals and entities acting as an agent of a foreign client are required to register with the Department of Justice.
One of Haley's top fundraisers, Oswaldo Palomo, the managing director of D.C.-based consulting firm Chartwell Strategy Group, is himself a registered foreign agent.
Palomo so far this year has contributed a total of $6,600 to Haley's joint fundraising committee, which raises money for her presidential campaign and her leadership PAC, Stand for America, according to campaign disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission.
According to FARA registration records, Palomo represents a number of foreign entities, including the government of Georgia in Eastern Europe, which he had worked for at least since 2018, and the Social Democratic Party of Romania, one of his more recent clients. Each of those clients pays him between $35,000 and $40,000 each month, and he has reported making contacts with hundreds of U.S. lawmakers in the course of his lobbying, FARA filings show.
Palomo also represents the Israeli cyberintelligence firm NSO Group, and the partially state-owned Chinese information technology company iFLYTEK, and has previously also worked for the government of Kosovo.
Palomo's work has brought him hundreds of thousands of dollars from each of his foreign clients over the last six months, according to filings.
Despite Haley's calls for a ban on foreign lobbying, Palomo has been a vocal supporter of the presidential hopeful, often touting her fundraising success.
Like Palomo, David Horton Wilkins, who was U.S. ambassador to Canada under President George W. Bush and is now a registered foreign agent, donated $6,600 to Haley's joint fundraising committee, according to disclosure filings. Previously a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, the longtime Haley ally led her transition team when she was first elected the governor of South Carolina in 2010.
Now a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough, Wilkins has been a registered agent for the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia for more than a decade, meeting with numerous members of Congress and representing the provinces' interests over the years, FARA records show.
Another Haley donor, Alexandra Scott Amorosi, whose LinkedIn profile says she worked at the public relations firm Ketchum, is a former registered foreign agent who between 2011 and 2014 represented the Russian Federation, as well as a Russian majority state-owned energy company called Gazprom and the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, providing media relations and communications services, according to foreign lobbying records. She has not renewed her foreign agent registration since 2014.
Haley's campaign did not respond to a request for comment by ABC News.
Palomo declined to comment when contacted by ABC News, while Wilkins and Amorosi could not be reached for comment.
Although federal election laws prohibit foreign nationals from making donations to U.S. political campaigns, lobbyists who are U.S. citizens representing foreign interests are allowed to do so, and it's a common practice especially at the federal level.
During the 2020 presidential election cycle, more than $33.5 million in federal political contributions came from foreign lobbyists, including at least $8.5 million from FARA-registered agents, and $25 million from lobbyists who were registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act while representing foreign clients with U.S. subsidiaries, according to FEC disclosure reports.
"It is not uncommon for presidential contenders to make promises rejecting campaign contributions from foreign lobbyists before ultimately accepting them -- though some politicians have refunded money from foreign lobbyists after media backlash," Anna Massoglia, editorial and investigations manager at the nonpartisan research group OpenSecrets.org, told ABC News.
Even if a candidate swears off campaign contributions directly from foreign lobbyists, those lobbyists may route funds to outside groups like nonprofits or super PACs supporting the candidates, Massoglia said.
Kim Kim Foster-Tobin/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) -- Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s husband, Michael Haley, is set to deploy in the coming weeks to Africa with the South Carolina Army National Guard, a source familiar confirms to ABC News.
The yearlong deployment would span much of Nikki Haley’s campaign schedule and would be her husband's second active-duty tour overseas since joining the National Guard in 2006. He first served in Afghanistan in 2013.
Details of the assignment were first reported by The Associated Press.
Nikki Haley’s husband has been a continual part of her campaign since it launched in February, attending the kickoff as well as a number of rallies.
“Our family, like every military family, is ready to make personal sacrifices when our loved one answers the call. We could not be prouder of Michael and his military brothers and sisters," Nikki Haley said in an emailed statement to ABC News.
"Their commitment to protecting our freedom is a reminder of how blessed we are to live in America," she said.
Michael Haley, a major in the South Carolina Army National Guard, will remain deployed through spring of 2024.
The pair met in college and married in 1996 and have two adult children, Rena and Nalin.
(WASHINGTON) -- A deal to raise the debt ceiling faces a crucial vote in the House Wednesday night, the next step in averting a potential default now just days away.
The bill, titled the "Fiscal Responsibility Act," cleared its first major hurdle Tuesday when the House Rules Committee advanced the bill in a 7-6 vote.
It is expected to pass the full House when voting is scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m., but frustration in both parties has leaders working around the clock to shore up enough support among their members.
"Today we're gonna pass the largest cut in American history. It's just a small step putting us on the right track," a confident House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters as he entered the Capitol Wednesday.
McCarthy added that "everybody has a right to their own opinion but on history, I'd want to be here with this bill today."
The vote will be a major test for the speaker, who faces a potential revolt from conservative hard-liners if he fails to get a majority of his conference (112 Republicans) to back the deal.
As of Wednesday morning, 32 House Republicans and counting said they were against the bill.
"If a majority of Republicans are against a piece of legislation and you use Democrats to pass it, that would immediately be a black letter violation of the deal we had with McCarthy ... and it would likely trigger an immediate motion to vacate," Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said Tuesday on Newsmax.
Rep. Ralph Norman, R-N.C., told ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott that McCarthy's "lost some trust in how this has been handled." The speaker brushed off those criticisms Republicans were "outsmarted" by Democrats.
A motion to vacate, under new House rules agreed to by McCarthy during his speakership battle back in January, would allow just one member of Congress to bring up a vote on removing the speaker. A simple majority of the House would be needed to pass such a motion.
Adding another layer to GOP discontentment is a new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that found the deal would actually increase the number of people eligible for SNAP food assistance, and increase the cost by $2.1 billion.
Work requirements for SNAP and other federal assistance programs were a major sticking point for Republicans in the negotiations between McCarthy and President Joe Biden.
McCarthy said late Tuesday the CBO was "totally wrong" and claimed the agency "double-counted."
Amid the conservative uproar over the bill as cutting far too little, McCarthy announced Wednesday the creation of a bipartisan commission to study the federal budget to look for potential waste to be cut.
On the other side of the aisle, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Tuesday House Democrats "will make sure that the country does not default."
Several progressive Democrats have pushed back against provisions of the bill but two key groups, the 100-member New Democrat Coalition and the 46-member bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, have endorsed the deal ahead of tonight's vote.
If it passes the House, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said his chamber would immediately take it up.
"Once it is the Senate's turn to act, I cannot stress enough that we have no margin -- no margin -- for error," Schumer said in floor remarks Wednesday. "Either we proceed quickly and send this bipartisan agreement to the president's desk or the federal government will default for the first time ever."
A potential roadblock will be if a filibuster materializes, which could delay the process for up to a week.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's given his approval on the bill, calling it a "down payment on more progress that's yet to come."
"When this agreement reaches the Senate, I'll be proud to support it without delay," McConnell said Wednesday.
ABC News' Trish Turner, Will Steakin, Lauren Peller and Noah Minnie contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) -- Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie plans on announcing a Republican bid for the 2024 presidency next week, sources familiar confirm to ABC News.
Christie will make his announcement at St. Anselm College on June 6 at 6:30 p.m. during a town hall event.
His bid will be shepherded by long-time aides Maria Comella and Mike DuHaime. The news comes a day after Christie allies launched a super PAC to support his candidacy.
The details of the campaign launch were first reported by Axios.
Christie, who also ran in 2016, joins an ever-expanding group of GOP hopefuls who must knock former President Donald Trump out of front-runner status to make real inroads with Republican voters. His soft pitch in the past several weeks -- as he's made the rounds on national media and visits to consequential primary states -- is that he might very well be the only Republican willing and able to bring that force.
"In American politics, if you want to beat somebody, you've got to go get them, and you got to make the case," Christie told a group of New England voters in April. "So what I'm saying tonight, I think, is the beginning of the case against Donald Trump. And that's the first task for Republican primary voters -- decide who we're going to nominate. And if we are willing to put up with that level of policy, and character failure, then we're going to get what we deserve."
Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, radio host Larry Elder and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson have formally announced their bids for the Republican nomination.
(WASHINGTON) -- After a critical deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling was announced over the weekend, lawmakers in Washington now face less than a week to pass the bill in both the House and Senate before Monday's predicted deadline for when default would begin.
Unless the $31.4 trillion borrowing limit is increased, the U.S. will run out of cash to pay all of its bills in full and on time -- the so-called "X-date" -- as early as June 5, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
Despite the breakthrough on an agreement between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, legislative hurdles remain to get the 99-page debt and spending bill to Biden's desk by next Monday.
The narrow margins in the House and Senate mean both Democratic and Republican moderates will likely have to back the bill.
May 27: Deal announced
Biden and McCarthy, after weeks of back and forth, announced on Saturday that they had reached a deal in principle on a two-year government budget in exchange for lifting the debt ceiling through January 2025.
May 28: Bill text is unveiled
The legislation, named the "Fiscal Responsibility Act," was publicly released on Sunday evening.
That started a 72-hour countdown clock, which is the length of time McCarthy promised to his members to review the legislation before a vote in the House.
Addressing reporters outside his office, the speaker touted what he called efforts to improve transparency and process in Congress -- for the public.
"I'm trying to change the House where it works again," he said.
May 30: House Rules Committee advances bill
Members returned Tuesday from the Memorial Day recess as the debt ceiling deal faced its first major test.
The House Rules Committee, made up of nine Republicans and four Democrats, met Tuesday afternoon to consider the bill.
The key panel, in a narrow 7-6 vote, gave the green light for the Fiscal Responsibility Act to advance to the full House for a floor vote.
May 31: House to vote
The bill is expected be voted on in the House on Wednesday evening.
The number of votes needed to pass the legislation, if all members are present, is 218.
Currently, Republicans hold the House 222-213 and, theoretically, some Democrats would be needed if there are more than four conservative defections.
But lawmakers from the wings of both parties have expressed dissatisfaction with some details of the deal.
Some members of the House Freedom Caucus, who sought more sweeping spending reductions, have said they will try to stop it from passing.
Washington Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Progressive Caucus, likewise on Sunday said congressional leaders should "worry" about garnering enough support from her group given qualms about a compromise with Republicans.
The White House and Republican leadership have been holding calls and briefings to sell the deal, with more meetings planned, ABC News has reported.
McCarthy predicted to ABC's Trish Turner on Sunday that a majority of Republicans will support it. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said on CBS' Face the Nation he expects that there "will be Democratic support once we have the ability to actually be fully briefed by the White House" but he wouldn't predict what the number of votes would look like.
He also said, "I do hope and expect to see a significant number of House Republicans voting for this agreement. It's my understanding that they are committed to producing at least 150 votes, if not more."
Upon departing the White House Sunday afternoon en route to Delaware, President Biden told ABC News' Elizabeth Schulze that there's "no reason" the debt limit deal shouldn't get done by June 5.
The president also said he's been working the phones speaking to a "number" of legislators, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. (Two congressional Democratic sources described the White House's sell as a “full court press.”)
"I never say I'm confident with the Congress ... but I feel very good about it," Biden said.
May 31 or later: Senate consideration
Assuming the debt ceiling bill passes the House on Wednesday night, the Senate would immediately begin dealing with the legislation, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has told colleagues.
Unanimous consent would allow the chamber to skip debate and quickly hold a vote, but it would take just one lawmaker to hold up proceedings and several have said they want to add amendments.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, previously said he would use every procedural tool available to delay a bill if it didn't have what he called "substantial spending and budgetary reforms." On Monday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., suggested he would create a similar roadblock because, he argued, the debt agreement was a "catastrophe for defense."
Schumer alluded to the possibility of hang-ups in a "Dear Colleague" letter on Sunday.
"Senators should prepare for potential Friday and weekend votes," he wrote.
If a filibuster materializes, it could delay final passage for as long as a week -- beyond the estimated default deadline of June 5.
A key endorsement for the deal came Sunday from Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who called on his colleagues to "act swiftly and pass this agreement without unnecessary delay."
"The United States of America will not default on its debt," McConnell said in a statement. "Today's agreement makes urgent progress toward preserving our nation's full faith and credit and a much-needed step toward getting its financial house in order."
June 5: The "X-date"
There's little room for error in Congress in order to pass legislation by next Monday.
The Treasury Department announced last week that its new "X-date" estimate was June 5, providing lawmakers with a bit of extra time to pass a deal. Secretary Yellen had earlier warned the U.S. could run out of money to pay all of its bills as early as June 1.
"Based on the most recent available data, we now estimate that Treasury will have insufficient resources to satisfy the government's obligations if Congress has not raised or suspended the debt limit by June 5," Yellen wrote in a letter to McCarthy on Friday.
Biden said Sunday he thought the legislation would make it to his desk.
"The speaker and I made clear from the start that the only way forward was a bipartisan agreement," he said. "That agreement now goes to the United States House and to the Senate. And I strongly urge both chambers to pass that agreement."
ABC News' Chris Boccia, Katherine Faulders, Gabe Ferris, Amanda Maile, Isabella Murray, Jay O'Brien, Elizabeth Schulze, Rachel Scott and Trish Turner contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) -- The debt ceiling deal brokered by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy cleared a major procedural hurdle on Tuesday night, just days before a potential default by the U.S. government.
The House Rules Committee gave the green light for the Fiscal Responsibility Act to advance to the full House so members can hold a planned vote on Wednesday night before sending the legislation to the Senate ahead of Monday’s default deadline.
The panel advanced the bill to the floor for debate in a narrow 7-6 vote.
In a big win for Republican leadership, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky -- a GOP hard-liner and fiscal hawk -- voted in favor of the rule.
"Today's bill is a product of compromise and reflects the realities of a divided government," Oklahoma Republican Rep. Tom Cole, who supported the rule for the proposal, said as he began the meeting.
In his own remarks, Massie said, "My interest in being on this committee was not to imprint my ideology. I think that is an inappropriate use of the committee."
He later told reporters he planned to vote for the deal on the floor.
The other House Freedom Caucus members on the committee, Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and North Carolina's Ralph Norman, vowed to try to block the bill from moving forward and ultimately voted against the rule, along with the four Democratic members.
"Not one Republican should vote for this deal. It is a bad deal," Roy said earlier Tuesday at a House Freedom Caucus press conference.
He also issued a veiled threat that there could be consequences if the deal goes through.
"We will continue to fight today, tomorrow," Roy said. "And no matter what happens, there's going to be a reckoning about what just occurred, unless we stop this bill by tomorrow."
Rep. Scott Perry, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, dodged questions at the news conference on whether he'd support a motion to vacate -- a rule that would allow any House member to force a vote to attempt to remove the speaker.
"I'll let each member speak for themselves. For me, I am focused on defeating this bill. What happens post that, and the agreements we have, we will decide once we determine the disposition of the bill in its finality," Perry said.
McCarthy shrugged off the criticism from those in his party, specifically some who claim the party was "outsmarted" by Democrats.
"How were we outsmarted, the largest cut in the history of Congress, the biggest ability to pull money back?" McCarthy said.
Getting the bill through Congress will hinge on support from moderates in both parties. The White House and Republican leaders have been holding calls and briefings to sell the deal, with more meetings planned, ABC News has reported.
Lawmakers face a time crunch to pass the debt ceiling deal because Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned the "X-date" -- when the government could run out cash to pay all its bills in full and on time -- could happen as early as June 5.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Tuesday Republicans have said they will deliver 150 votes from their party, and "House Democrats will make sure that the country does not default."
The New Democrat Coalition, made up of roughly 100 House Democrats, has endorsed the debt ceiling deal.
Asked about the vote tallies, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young (a key negotiator in the debt talks) stopped short of declaring victory, telling reporters she'd leave that to Congress.
"All I know is when you enter into good faith negotiations, you don't negotiate to see a bill posted," she said at the daily White House briefing. "You negotiate to make sure it gets to the president's desk and we'll fulfill our part when it gets to the president's desk."
The Fiscal Responsibility Act includes a two-year government budget in exchange for lifting the debt ceiling through Jan. 1, 2025. The bill would keep non-defense spending flat in fiscal 2024 and increase levels by 1% in fiscal 2025.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday night released its score -- or fiscal analysis -- of the debt ceiling deal, estimating that it would reduce the federal deficit by $1.5 trillion over 10 years.
The interest on the public debt in that time period would also decline by $188 billion, according to the CBO.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has said his chamber will take up the bill as soon as it passes the House. He advised his colleagues to prepare for possible Friday and weekend votes if there's not unanimous cooperation.
If there's a filibuster, it could push the chamber past the June 5 default deadline. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, previously threatened to "use every procedural tool at my disposal to impede a debt-ceiling deal" he didn't agree with.
Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, in a rare moment of unity, both praised the debt limit deal in floor remarks on Tuesday.
"I support the bipartisan agreement that President Biden has produced with Speaker McCarthy. Avoiding default is an absolute imperative," Schumer said.
McConnell said while no one got everything they wanted, "the American people got a whole lot more progress towards fiscal sanity than Washington Democrats wanted to give them. Speaker McCarthy and House Republicans deserve our thanks."
(FLORIDA) -- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday held a "campaign kickoff" outside Des Moines, Iowa, returning to a crucial early nominating state for the first time since announcing he is running for president.
DeSantis' swing through Iowa on Tuesday and Wednesday began Tuesday night with a speech in Clive at the Eternity Church. Before that, he and wife Casey met with "15 local pastors who will be praying over the family and the Governor's candidacy," a spokesperson said.
"Our great American comeback starts by sending [President] Joe Biden back to his basement in Delaware," DeSantis declared at the start of his remarks, after walking onstage with his wife. His campaign said more than 1,000 people were in attendance, including in an overflow space.
DeSantis went on to criticize the "failed policies" flowing out of Washington -- on crime, on the southern border, on energy production and on the state of the economy, including the cost of living.
More broadly, pointing to some of his familiar targets, he attacked "elites" -- who had "continued to plunge this nation into the abyss" -- and "woke ideology," which he said unfairly singled out conservatives for unequal treatment.
"if Hunter were a Republican, he would have been in jail years ago," DeSantis said to loud applause from the crowd, referring to the president's younger son, who is currently under federal investigation. (Hunter Biden denies wrongdoing.)
Campaigning in the state, which is set to hold the first Republican presidential nominating contest early next year, has long meant up-close-and-personal interactions with voters, who relish their ability to size up White House hopefuls.
But DeSantis has already faced some scrutiny -- and "awkward" headlines -- about how he handles retail politics, something he is not well known for.
Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats, who has a history of doling out influential primary endorsements, told ABC News in an interview before DeSantis' speech that he believes some of the discussion around DeSantis' ability to campaign is exaggerated.
"I've been around him and I think he connects very well with people one-on-one," Vander Plaats insisted. "But I think his message is [that] he's got a lot of results to communicate."
Tuesday's kickoff event begins a four-day trip for DeSantis through 12 cities and towns in the early nominating states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, which his campaign has billed as "Our Great American Comeback Tour."
The governor first announced his presidential run on Twitter along with Elon Musk, though the start of their event last week was overshadowed by tech issues.
"We know our country's going in the wrong direction. We see it with our eyes and we feel it in our bones," DeSantis said then, echoing a line from his campaign announcement video: "Decline is a choice. Success is attainable. And freedom is worth fighting for."
Although Tuesday marked the first day DeSantis visited Iowa as a presidential candidate, it was the third time he has been to the state since the beginning of the year.
Former President Donald Trump is set to return to the state this week, too, following the cancellation of a rally in Des Moines earlier this month due to what his campaign said were tornado threats.
DeSantis enters the 2024 race as Trump's biggest threat so far for the Republican presidential nomination, early polls show.
Notably, on the day that Trump canceled his Des Moines rally, DeSantis made a surprise appearance in the city instead -- and seemed to jab at Trump during his speech Tuesday night when he said of that impromptu event, "The weather was so nice that we felt we just had to come back and pay everyone a bit of a visit."
An erstwhile ally who backed DeSantis' first gubernatorial campaign, Trump has been criticizing DeSantis for months, as it became more and more clear DeSantis would run against him in the primary.
Among other issues, Trump targeted DeSantis' record given high COVID-19 deaths in Florida – while DeSantis has touted how he "cut against the grain" on government restrictions -- and said last week that DeSantis "desperately needs a personality transplant."
In recent days, DeSantis has ramped up his own criticism of the former president, invoking his 20-point reelection win in November -- an enormous margin of victory in a famous swing state.
"He started attacking me leading into the midterm election. I don't know why he did it," DeSantis said in one radio interview. "Then, after I won a big victory, he wasn't happy with that."
"I view myself as a vehicle to bring about the aspirations of the people I represent, not about me personally," he said. He also accused Trump of "running to the left."
Vander Plaats predicted that DeSantis' travels throughout Iowa will give many locals a chance at a first impression and allow DeSantis to draw a persuasive link between what he's done in Florida and Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds' similarly conservative record.
"I think [it's] part of drawing that connection, because you're always looking for a familiar ground with the people attending your events, and I think that'd be familiar ground," Vander Plaats said.
(ATLANTA) -- Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has been diagnosed with dementia, The Carter Center announced on Tuesday.
"She continues to live happily at home with her husband, enjoying spring in Plains and visits with loved ones," The Carter Center said in a statement.
The Carter Center pointed to the first lady's advocacy for mental health and said it was making the announcement to decrease stigma.
"We recognize, as she did more than half a century ago, that stigma is often a barrier that keeps individuals and their families from seeking and getting much-needed support," the statement continued. "We hope sharing our family's news will increase important conversations at kitchen tables and in doctor’s offices around the country."
Carter's husband, former President Jimmy Carter, has been receiving hospice care since February following a series of hospitalizations.
The Carters are the longest-ever married presidential couple, having wed in 1946. At 98, Jimmy Carter is the oldest living former president and the longest-lived former president in U.S. history.
He and Rosalynn Carter, 95, founded The Carter Center in Georgia in 1982, shortly after Jimmy Carter lost reelection to Ronald Reagan.
In the decades since, The Carter Center has become a noted international humanitarian force, focused on public health and human rights, among other efforts. The Carters have also become well-known for their long association building houses with Habitat for Humanity.
(WASHINGTON) -- The man suspected of ramming a truck into the White House barriers on the north side of Lafayette Square should be locked up as he awaits trial, the government said in a Friday night filing that included a slate of new photos.
The government's motion for a pretrial detention argued that "there are no conditions, or combination of conditions, which would ensure the Defendant’s presence at trial or the safety of the community if he is released."
The filing also revealed pictures from surveillance cameras and body-worn police cameras of the suspect crashing into the bollards outside of the White House and getting arrested and more writings from Sai Varshith Kandula, 19, about what he wrote would happen if he was able to take power at the White House.
As prosecutors described in earlier court filings, Kandula came from St. Louis to Dulles International Airport, where he rented a U-Haul truck. Prior court records detailed his alleged admiration for Adolf Hitler and intent to kill President Joe Biden.
In addition to a flag bearing what Kandula confirmed to officials was a swastika, investigators recovered a green book that contained his writings, according to the Friday filing. The filing included an excerpt of what prosecutors said was a speech Kandula intended to deliver after taking power.
The writings, written in the style of a broadcast, spoke of "consequences" for civil unrest following his efforts to topple the government, and what has been described as his draft speech allegedly ended with a Nazi salute, according to the government.
Kandula will appear in court on Tuesday to determine whether he will continue to be locked up pending trial. His lawyers haven't filed a response or counter motion. Court records show he was referred for a mental health evaluation.
(WASHINGTON) -- A critical deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling was announced over the weekend, and lawmakers in Washington now face one week to pass the bill in both chambers of Congress before the predicted deadline when default would begin.
Unless the $31.4 trillion borrowing limit is increased, the U.S. will run out of cash to pay all of its bills in full and on time -- the so-called "X-date" -- as early as June 5, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
Despite the breakthrough on an agreement between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, legislative hurdles remain to get the 99-page debt and spending bill to Biden's desk by next Monday.
The narrow margins in the House and Senate mean both Democratic and Republican moderates will likely have to back the bill.
May 27: Deal announced
Biden and McCarthy, after weeks of back and forth, announced on Saturday that they had reached a deal in principle on a two-year government budget in exchange for lifting the debt ceiling through January 2025.
May 28: Bill text is unveiled
The legislation, named the "Fiscal Responsibility Act," was publicly released on Sunday evening.
That started a 72-hour countdown, which is the period of time McCarthy promised to his members to review the legislation before a vote in the House.
Addressing reporters outside his office, the speaker touted what he called efforts to improve transparency and process in Congress -- for the public.
"I'm trying to change the House where it works again," he said.
May 30: Lawmakers will return, rules committee to meet
Members are due to return Tuesday from the Memorial Day recess.
The House Rules Committee, made up of nine Republicans and four Democrats, is scheduled to meet at 3 p.m. ET to set the parameters under which the debt ceiling bill will be considered.
Two of the nine Republicans have publicly criticized the agreement: Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Chip Roy of Texas, both with the hardline House Freedom Caucus.
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a fiscal hawk, has also been considered a possible holdout, though McCarthy singled him out for praise on Sunday for successfully proposing a fallback measure for spending cuts in the deal with the White House.
If all three were opposed to the bill in committee, a Democrat would need to join the remaining Republicans to vote to advance the bill to the full House.
McCarthy, arriving at the Capitol on Monday, said he wasn't worried about the committee meeting.
May 31: House to vote
The bill is expected to go to the House on Wednesday evening.
The number of votes needed to pass the legislation, if all members are present, is 218.
Currently, Republicans hold the House 222-213 and, theoretically, some Democrats would be needed if there are more than four conservative defections.
But lawmakers from the wings of both parties have expressed dissatisfaction with some of the details of the deal.
Some members of the Freedom Caucus, who sought more sweeping spending reductions, have said they will try to stop it from passing the House.
Washington Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Progressive Caucus, likewise on Sunday said congressional leaders should "worry" about garnering enough support from the group given qualms with the compromise with Republicans.
The White House and Republican leadership have been holding calls and briefings to sell the deal, with more meetings planned, ABC News has reported.
McCarthy predicted to ABC's Trish Turner on Sunday that a majority of Republicans will support it. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said on CBS' Face the Nation he expects that there "will be Democratic support once we have the ability to actually be fully briefed by the White House" but he wouldn't predict what the number of votes would look like.
He also said, "I do hope and expect to see a significant number of House Republicans voting for this agreement. It's my understanding that they are committed to producing at least 150 votes, if not more."
Upon departing the White House Sunday afternoon en route to Delaware, Biden told ABC News' Elizabeth Schulze that there's "no reason" the debt limit deal shouldn't get done by June 5.
The president also said he's been working the phones speaking to a "number" of legislators, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. (Two congressional Democratic sources described the White House's sell as a “full court press.”)
"I never say I'm confident with the Congress ... but I feel very good about it," Biden said.
May 31 or later: Senate consideration
Assuming the debt ceiling bill passes the House on Wednesday night, the Senate would immediately begin processing the legislation, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has told colleagues.
Unanimous consent would allow the chamber to skip debate and quickly hold a vote, but it would take just one lawmaker to hold up proceedings.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, previously said he would use every procedural tool available to delay a bill if it didn't have what he called "substantial spending and budgetary reforms." On Monday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., suggested he would create a similar roadblock because, he argued, the debt agreement was a "catastrophe for defense."
Schumer alluded to the possibility of hang-ups in a "Dear Colleague" letter on Sunday.
"Senators should prepare for potential Friday and weekend votes," he wrote.
If a filibuster materializes, it could delay final passage for as long as a week -- beyond the estimated default deadline of June 5.
A key endorsement for the deal came Sunday from McConnell, who called on his colleagues to "act swiftly and pass this agreement without unnecessary delay."
"The United States of America will not default on its debt," McConnell said in a statement. "Today's agreement makes urgent progress toward preserving our nation's full faith and credit and a much-needed step toward getting its financial house in order."
June 5: The "X-date"
There's little room for error in Congress in order to pass legislation by next Monday.
The Treasury Department announced last week that its new "X-date" estimate was June 5, providing lawmakers with a bit of extra time to pass a deal. Yellen had earlier warned the U.S. could run out of money to pay all of its bills as early as June 1.
"Based on the most recent available data, we now estimate that Treasury will have insufficient resources to satisfy the government's obligations if Congress has not raised or suspended the debt limit by June 5," Yellen wrote in a letter to McCarthy on Friday.
Biden said Sunday he thought the legislation would make it to his desk.
"The speaker and I made clear from the start that the only way forward was a bipartisan agreement," he said. "That agreement now goes to the United States House and to the Senate. And I strongly urge both chambers to pass that agreement."
(WASHINGTON) -- After months of back and forth, House Republicans and the White House this weekend unveiled a deal on raising the nation's $31.4 trillion borrowing limit while implementing some caps on government spending and other policy changes.
The legislation, which was released publicly on Sunday, will need to be approved by Congress within days to avert a historic default that could begin as soon as June 5, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said.
Otherwise the U.S. will be unable to pay all of its bills -- sowing unprecedented economic turmoil, including lost jobs and major hits to stock markets.
President Joe Biden has vowed to sign the debt deal if it passes the House and Senate. A House vote is slated for Wednesday.
Below are key takeaways and questions about the debt and spending bill:
What's in the debt ceiling bill?
The agreement is a two-year budget deal that would also separately raise the debt limit for two years while keeping non-defense spending roughly flat with current levels in fiscal year 2024 and increasing by 1% in 2025. The newly reached agreement would suspend the debt limit through January 1, 2025 – taking away the threat of default for a few years.
The new debt ceiling deal has no changes to Medicaid and fully funds medical care for veterans. However, there are new SNAP eligibility requirements, such as placing time limits on certain Americans over the age of 54, according to sources from the White House.
Speaking about the agreement, a White House official said that President Biden and his team wanted to ensure that no one lost any health care in the agreement and that poverty would not increase as a result. When asked for an estimate on the net deficit reduction from the agreement, a White House official said discretionary savings are “likely” to be in the $1 trillion range, but would have to wait on the CBO score.
When does it have to pass?
Soon: While the treasury secretary has cautioned that estimates of the so-called "X-date" for default can vary, she most recently predicted the deadline to be June 5, "based on the most recent available data."
Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said the House would vote on the bill on Wednesday. The Senate, which returns to Washington on Tuesday, would then begin processing the legislation on Wednesday night, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told Democrats in a letter.
But under the chamber's rules, it would only take one lawmaker to possibly delay approval for up to a week -- past the X-date. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has threatened just that unless he feels the deal has "substantial spending and budgetary reforms."
Schumer appeared to reference such obstacles in his letter to Democrats: "Due to the time it may take to process the legislation in the Senate without cooperation, Senators should prepare for potential Friday and weekend votes."
Will the debt ceiling bill pass?
McCarthy and President Joe Biden think so, with McCarthy predicting on Sunday that both a majority of his conference and some Democrats would come together to approve the legislation.
The bill "doesn't get everything everybody wanted," he acknowledged, "but that's, in divided government, that's what we end up with."
"This is a good, strong bill that a majority of Republicans will vote for," he told ABC News' Trish Turner.
And with Biden's backing, "I expect his party to be supportive as well," McCarthy said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries confirmed during an appearance on CBS' Face the Nation that Democrats will likely vote for the bill. But he didn't offer specific estimates.
"I do hope and expect to see a significant number of House Republicans voting for this agreement. It's my understanding that they are committed to producing at least 150 votes, if not more," Jeffries said. "They were the ones who negotiated this agreement with the White House. And I expect that they will provide a significant number of votes to get it over the finish line."
Republican Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota said on Sunday that the more votes they are able to whip -- from both sides -- the better it looks for the nation.
"I think it is certainly plausible that we could get 218 [votes], although I think it's going to look a lot better for this country if we can put a big number up on the board," he said on CNN's State of the Union. "Democrats like Joe Biden and some in the House coming together with Republicans to pass this."
Outreach and whipping efforts for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been underway since the deal was first announced Saturday night, sources familiar have told ABC News.
In a statement on Saturday, Biden said, "I strongly urge both chambers to pass the agreement right away."
Returning to the White House on Sunday, Biden was asked by ABC News' Elizabeth Schulze: "Are you confident this deal will get to your desk?"
"Yes," he said.
Political reactions
Biden and McCarthy stressed their deal as a compromise reflecting the bipartisan reality of Washington right now, but both some liberals and hard-line conservatives reacted with dismay -- having urged their respective leaders, throughout negotiations, not to cede too much.
"This 'deal' is insanity. ... Not gonna vote to bankrupt our country. The American people deserve better," Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. and a member of the House Freedom Caucus, tweeted.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas and another member of the House Freedom Caucus, was more blunt, tweeting that the bill was a "turd-sandwich."
Rep. Johnson said on "State of the Union" that despite the criticism, he thinks at least some of those "House Freedom people" will vote for a "fantastic deal."
He shrugged off resistance from others.
"Let's be honest, [Rep.] Bob Good will not vote for this thing. And it doesn't matter if Mother Teresa came back from the dead and called him, he's not voting for it. He was never going to," Johnson said.
Across the aisle, Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, the Progressive Caucus chair, declined to say if she would support the legislation either -- and that congressional leaders should "worry" about garnering enough support from progressives like her.
In particular, more left-wing Democrats have criticized Biden for negotiating under the threat of default while agreeing to some work requirements on federal aid.
What are the risks of default?
Economists have warned the U.S. being unable to fulfill financial obligations would put millions of jobs at risk, increase unemployment levels and lead to higher prices for everyday items.
A default could also result in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid payments -- as well as military pay and veterans benefits -- going unpaid or being delayed.
As the negotiations came down to the wire, Americans who depend on those checks expressed growing concern and anxiety surrounding their ability to pay rent, buy groceries and other daily expenses if default were to occur.
Air Force veteran Jacob Thomas in Minneapolis told ABC News' Elizabeth Schulze the uncertainty over default was already hitting American military families.
"Even if a deal is reached, everything winds up being OK next week, that still means that right now, families and veterans across the country are having to think about, 'What does it mean for me to have to ration my current paycheck or my current disability paycheck?'" Thomas said.
Fred Gurner, 86, of New York, told ABC News that he uses his Social Security payment for his $800 rent.
"It's very stressful, gives me a heart attack," Gurner said about how the issue has become politicized.
And Susan Prahl Meachum, a 64 year old living in rural Virginia, said she will "lose everything" if there is no deal to raise the debt limit in time.
"We're human beings," she said, "and we're doing the best we can with what we've got."
ABC News' Chris Boccia, Adam Carlson, Peter Charalambous, Katherine Faulders, Alexandra Hutzler, Amanda Maile, Molly Nagle, Elizabeth Schulze, Rachel Scott and Trish Turner contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) -- A bipartisan majority of Congress will approve a compromise in the coming days to raise the nation's debt ceiling and avert a historic default that could upend the economy while enforcing some limits on government spending, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy predicted on Sunday.
McCarthy, flanked by the two Republican negotiators who worked with him on brokering a debt and spending deal with the White House, spoke with reporters outside his office on Capitol Hill on Sunday.
He offered some specifics about the agreement with President Joe Biden while pushing back on already-emerging criticism from his party's right flank that Republicans did not exact enough concessions on the federal government's budget.
"I think people will look back and say, 'Well I didn't get exactly what I wanted.' But there's something in here that -- it shouldn't be about you, it should be about America," McCarthy said. "America believes that we have spent too much, so this spends less."
The bill "doesn't get everything everybody wanted," he acknowledged, "but that's, in divided government, that's what we end up with."
McCarthy said he would speak with Biden again later Sunday, to review the finalized language of the legislation, and then the text will be posted publicly, starting a 72-hour countdown that he has committed to members for reading the bill before a vote on Wednesday. The proposal would be about 150 pages or less, he said.
"This is a good, strong bill that a majority of Republicans will vote for," he told ABC News' Trish Turner.
And with Biden's backing, "I expect his party to be supportive as well," McCarthy said.
While he and Reps. Garret Graves and Patrick McHenry, of Louisiana and North Carolina, deferred some details of the debt bill to the final text, they touted what they saw as major wins.
"This is the most conservative spending package in my service in Congress," McHenry, a 10-term representative, said.
McCarthy again stressed that Republicans had forced Biden to reverse his monthslong insistence that the White House would only negotiate on the budget separate from any increase on the debt, with Democrats likening talks with Republicans under the threat of default to economic hostage-taking.
"It wasn't until the final two weeks that we were really able to sit down," McCarthy said.
The clock was ticking the whole time: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the federal government will run out of money to pay all of its bills as soon as June 5 unless its $31.4 trillion borrowing limit is raised.
Such a default would undermine the credit of the U.S., which is a lynchpin of the international economy, and could delay payments on a swath of services including Social Security.
On Sunday, the speaker repeatedly praised both Graves and McHenry and Biden's team of "professional," "smart" and "tough" negotiators.
"The negotiations were intense, they were quite challenging," McHenry told reporters. "The outcome of that is a fundamental shift in the spending trajectory in Washington."
ABC News has previously reported that, according to sources familiar, the agreement is a two-year budget deal that would also separately raise the debt limit for two years while keeping non-defense spending roughly flat with current levels in fiscal year 2024 and increasing by 1% in 2025.
The agreement would phase in new work requirements for recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits -- specifically time limits on the benefits for people up to age 54, excluding veterans and homeless people. Those new requirements would sunset in 2030, sources said.
The bill would fully fund medical care for veterans, including an extension of funding in the PACT Act, one source said.
And the deal would streamline the review process for certain energy projects.
McCarthy, Graves and McHenry on Sunday pointed to changes to the National Environmental Policy Act, in particular, and said that while government spending on defense and veterans would increase under the deal, other appropriations would fall below the 2022 level.
McHenry highlighted "consequential" changes to SNAP, also known as food stamps, and fixing "loopholes" in TANF, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, but he demurred on further details until the bill text was published.
Ultimately, McCarthy and his negotiators said, Republicans could not enforce a more sweeping, 10-year spending reduction into the next Congress because future lawmakers would simply be able to vote to undue it.
McHenry said that the bill instead lays out, as one example, $704 billion in annual non-defense discretionary government spending while "hold[ing] vets harmless" -- a rebuke of Democratic criticism that Republicans were seeking spending cuts that could affect veterans.
Graves said their legislation includes six years of spending caps, with different means of enforcing the first two years, under the current Republican House majority, than the remaining four.
The speaker was pressed several times by reporters on comments by some House Republicans that the debt deal doesn't go far enough, especially in light of the Limit, Save, Grow Act that was passed along party lines in the House last month.
"This 'deal' is insanity. ... Not gonna vote to bankrupt our country. The American people deserve better," Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., tweeted.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., likewise shared his displeasure on social media. "Conservatives have been sold out once again!" he tweeted.
McCarthy played down reports of in-fighting, insisting more than 95% of his conference had been "overwhelmingly excited" about the compromise during an earlier conference call.
"Let's let the members actually read the bill before they make a decision and go forward," he told reporters.
He also brushed off the potential risk of a snap vote to boot him from the speakership, which any single member could trigger under an earlier deal McCarthy made to win the gavel in January.
"Not at all," he said when asked if he was worried about such a move, known as a motion to vacate.
The GOP holds only a narrow majority in the House right now. Passing a debt compromise theoretically would require at least a bare majority of Republicans -- with enough Democrats to make up for any conservative defections.
In a "dear colleague" letter shared Sunday morning, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told Democrats that the Biden administration would brief them later in the day on the terms of the deal.
Jeffries made no commitments about the scope of his caucus' support but struck an optimistic tone on raising the borrowing limit: "I am thankful to President Biden for his leadership in averting a devastating default and look forward to our collective discussion," he wrote.
Senior White House officials immediately started calling a number of House Democrats to sell them on the deal, multiple lawmakers who have received the calls told ABC News. Aides to moderate Democrats are hoping for a “hard sell” from the administration.
Talking points circulated by the White House to members of Congress, and obtained by ABC News, encouraged lawmakers to focus on what the deal between Biden and McCarthy doesn't do, including further government cuts and changes to social programs.
Among Republicans, sources told ABC News on Sunday that the whip operation was well underway as well and a small group of members have returned early to Washington, reaching out to as many lawmakers as possible.
But House GOP leadership sources acknowledged that passing the deal will likely come down to moderate Democratic votes -- at the same time that the more Democrats that support the agreement, the more that may complicate things for Republican members, sources said.
McCarthy told reporters on Sunday that he has spoken to Jeffries multiple times and spoke with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Saturday. He plans to speak with the GOP's Senate conference later Sunday to explain the agreement, he said.
The speaker first announced a deal in principle on Saturday night, after weeks of talks with Democrats and a seesawing tone from both sides on the ultimate fate of any agreement.
In a brief statement Saturday, Biden said their compromise was "an important step forward that reduces spending while protecting critical programs for working people and growing the economy for everyone."
"I strongly urge both chambers to pass the agreement right away," the president said.
ABC News' Katherine Faulders, Jay O'Brien, Lauren Peller, Elizabeth Schulze, Rachel Scott, Benjamin Siegel and Will Steakin contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) -- Deputy Homeland Security Secretary John Tien, a 24-year Army vet, now finds himself with a new challenge, handed down by Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas specifically because of his background: defeating, disrupting and dismantling Mexican drug cartels.
"These cartels are responsible for human smuggling, human trafficking, narcotics trafficking in particular, who are making, shipping and selling dangerous and deadly narcotics," Tien told ABC News in an interview, laying blame with them for the spread of opioids like fentanyl.
Tien is one of the most senior law enforcement officials in the country. His status as a veteran isn't so unique -- there are about 54,000 others working at the department, or about 20% of employees -- but it informs his work even out of the military.
So, too, does his heritage.
"As a first-generation Asian American, I know that I've got a responsibility to be both seen and heard," he explained. (May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.)
The son of Chinese immigrants, Tien spent his early childhood in Pittsburgh. He learned from his mother "how to be a servant leader" and from his father how to lead a life of public service. That path began with a single conversation in the weight room.
"I really think you should consider West Point, not any of the other military academies, just West Point," Tien recalls his father saying. "And I said, 'Why?' And he said, 'Because you wouldn't be sitting here today, you wouldn't be [an] American citizen, without the United States of America accepting our family, your grandfather's family ... through Ellis Island.'"
Tien followed his father's advice, attending the U.S. Military Academy, where he became the first Asian American to serve as the first captain and brigade commander, the school's top-ranked cadet position.
He ultimately served three tours in Iraq -- with his first being Operation Desert Storm -- then went on to both private sector and government work.
Decades later, Tien said his motto while at the academy -- "duty, honor, country" -- and the motto of the Department of Homeland Security are "essentially one and the same."
"That motto literally is in my DNA. It's my life credo," he said. "And it has indeed been the throughline of my life and how I aspire to act and behave."
When Mayorkas called him about a job in 2021, Mayorkas told him he has "the right combination of experience and skills at the right time for the nation," said Tien, who previously worked on the National Security Council in the Bush and Obama White Houses.
"The way al-Qaida operates is very similar to the way the cartels operate," he said.
