President Donald Trump announced on July 22 that the White House has reached a deal with Democratic and Republican leaders on a two-year budget, amounting to an against-the-odds victory for Washington pragmatists seeking to avoid politically dangerous tumult over fiscal deadlines.
“I am pleased to announce that a deal has been struck with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy – on a two-year Budget and Debt Ceiling, with no poison pills,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “This was a real compromise in order to give another big victory to our Great Military and Vets!”
Aides on both sides of the talks say the deal would restore the government’s ability to borrow to pay its bills into the next administration and build upon recent large budget gains for both the Pentagon and domestic agencies. It would mostly eliminate the risk of a repeat government shutdown this fall.
The agreement is on a broad outline for $1.37 trillion in agency spending next year and would represent a win for lawmakers eager to return Washington to a more predictable path amid political turmoil and polarization, defense hawks determined to cement big military increases, and Democrats seeking to protect domestic programs. Both sides view it as better than a protracted battle this fall that probably wouldn’t end up much differently.
President Donald Trump appeared to indicate that he’s pleased with the emerging agreement.
“I think we’re doing pretty well on a budget. It’s very important that we take care of our military. Our military was depleted. In the last two-and-a-half years, we’ve un-depleted it, to put it mildly,” Trump told reporters in an Oval Office appearance on July 22.
