It wasn’t all bad
■ Helen Kahan, a Holocaust survivor, celebrated her 100th birthday by throwing the opening pitch at aTampa Bay Rays game.The Romanian-born Kahan practiced for days before throwing her first pitch at the weekend series–opening game against the New York Yankees. Kahan was 21 when she was sent to Auschwitz along with her parents and six siblings, who were killed at the concentration camp, before being liberated. “Oh dear, cannot be a better thing,” she said. “It cannot be. I am on my birthday and I have such happiness.”
■ An oversize snapping turtle became an unlikely wildlife hero after kayakers took a video of the reptile enjoying the sun on the bank of the Chicago River. Deeply polluted and compared to an open sewer decades ago, the river has become home to an increasing range of species. One of the kayakers, Al Scorch, nicknamed the turtle Chonkosaurus, and the name has stuck online, where the video gained hundreds of thousands of viewers. Chris Anchor, a wildlife biologist, said that Chonkosaurus was a female, likely loaded with eggs, and weighed roughly 40 pounds. Anchor believes the sighting of the huge turtle was a testament to the Chicago River’s revival. “You’ve got a lot more eyes in the river now,” Anchor said.
■ A mother, a father, and a daughter graduated at the same time at Texas Lutheran University last Saturday. Ashley Adams, an education major from Cibolo,Texas, was joined by her parents Robyn, who earned a master’s degree in accounting, and Greg, who majored in business, at the university’s spring commencement in Seguin. Both parents quickly became an active part of the community, with Robyn working as a supplemental instructor and Greg participating in the golf team. “Graduating with my family is by far going to be one of the most special moments of my life,” said Ashley.
What happened
President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy signaled cautious optimism about breaking their stalemate over raising the debt ceiling as the deadline for avoiding the U.S.’s first default in history approached. After meeting with McCarthy this week, Biden backed down from his position that Congress must raise the ceiling without any additional conditions—which Republicans did three times under President Trump. He appeared open to accepting a deal that includes expanding work requirements for programs like cash assistance and food aid, while remaining opposed to any new restrictions on Medicaid. Biden appointed White House counselor Steve Ricchetti and budget director Shalanda Young to continue discussions. “There was an overwhelming consensus that defaulting on the debt is not an option,” he said.
The U.S. reached its debt ceiling of $31.4 trillion in January. The Treasury Department has used accounting maneuvers to continue paying the country’s bills, but Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the U.S. could default on its debt obligations as soon as June 1, likely triggering a global financial crisis, if Congress doesn’t raise the ceiling. In April, the GOP-controlled House passed a bill to raise the debt limit by $1.5 trillion for one year with extensive spending cuts and new work requirements for welfare recipients, but it was dead on arrival in the Senate. “After months of delay from President Biden, negotiations are finally underway for a responsible debt limit increase,” McCarthy said. “The structure of how we negotiate has improved.”
What the columnists said
“Biden has already caved,” said Russell Berman in The Atlantic. He insisted that he wouldn’t negotiate over the debt ceiling, trying to separate it from budget negotiations, “but that’s exactly what he’s now doing.” While Biden hasn’t committed to any of McCarthy’s demands, the speaker “has elicited one major concession,” which will surely be followed by more. “Biden has come to the table, and he’s negotiating on the GOP’s terms.”
The Biden administration has finally realized that “all the spending and debt issuance it has been engaging in has put the U.S. in a very treacherous spot,” said Kevin Hassett in National Review. Worldwide investors don’t want a “clean” debt ceiling increase. They want fiscal responsibility. And voters are “desperate for a president who can work with those across the aisle.” Getting to a compromise is the smart thing for Biden to do, fiscally and politically.
“Biden ultimately has an obligation—and an interest—to be the adult in the room,” said Douglas E. Schoen in The Hill. Fairly or not, he’s the one who will face the consequences of a default in 2024. A recent poll shows that 58 percent of Americans agree that raising the debt ceiling should be separate from spending cuts, but with an approval rating of only 36 percent, Biden can’t risk looking responsible for a default. He certainly shouldn’t give in to all of McCarthy’s demands, “many of which are untenable,” but he’d “be wise to give House Republicans some of what they are asking for in exchange for averting a fiscal—and political—disaster.”