Congress, White House close to deal on federal budget

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are on the cusp of a critical debt and budget deal, one that would amount to an against-the-odds victory for Washington pragmatists seeking to avoid politically dangerous tumult over must-do fiscal deadlines.

Aides on both sides of the talks say the tentative 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. The deal would mostly eliminate the risk of a repeat government shutdown this fall.

The agreement on an outline for $1.3 trillion in agency spending 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. Nobody can claim a big win but both sides view it as better than a protracted battle this fall that probably wouldn’t end up much differently.

The aides spoke about the emerging deal on the condition of anonymity. A person close to the talks said final obstacles are down to technical issues.

At issue are two separate but pressing items on Washington’s must-do agenda: increasing the debt limit to avert a first default on U.S. payments, and acting to set overall spending limits and prevent automatic spending cuts from hitting the Pentagon and domestic agencies in January.

Pelosi is positioned to claim rough parity between increases for defense and nondefense programs.