US politicians reach tentative agreement on government spending

Democratic and Republican leaders reached an agreement Sunday on US government spending. This means the US Congress is one step closer to preventing a 'shutdown', a shutdown of the federal government, write American media. It is still uncertain whether it will be incorporated into concrete legislation in time.

Central to the deal is a cap of around $1,660 billion (1,520 billion euros) on a portion of government spending, including $886 billion (810 billion euros) for defense. In addition to this $1.6 trillion, the US government spends another $4 trillion annually, mainly on Social Security, which is determined in a different way.

Some parts of the US government depend on the money being released on January 19th and others on February 2nd. If members of Congress do not agree on the precise details of the budget before the deadline, parts of the government will shut down and government employees will be temporarily without pay. The Senate and House of Representatives still have to vote on the agreements made on Sunday.

'total failure'

It's not yet clear whether the plans can convince a majority. Republicans are divided over reactions to the deal. House Speaker Mike Johnson called the deal “the most favorable budget Republicans have achieved in more than a decade,” the far-right Freedom Caucus wrote. In X: “America is headed for financial ruin.”

This group of ultra-conservative Republicans doesn't necessarily have the numbers to get budget proposals through the House of Representatives, but they have more influence in the party. In October, the Freedom Caucus, along with Democrats, ousted then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

US President Joe Biden A Declaration: “Republicans in Congress need to do their jobs now and stop threatening to shut down the government.”

It almost came to a standstill last fall. That was avoided by the interim budget deal, which has now expired. An additional package of 106 billion euros, including military support for Ukraine, was also under discussion at the time, but was not part of the budget legislation Congress must adopt in the coming weeks.

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