Congress

President Joe Biden defended his "Build Back Better" spending plan in a Tuesday speech, insisting once again that he is a “capitalist” at heart and that his bill currently tied up in Congress is fully paid for.

Congress is barreling toward a mid-October deadline to raise or suspend the debt ceiling, but Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill are locked in a fierce stalemate with no clear plan to avert what would be the first-ever default in the U.S.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Tuesday he is open to a social spending bill larger than $1.5 trillion, signaling the possibility that the moderate Democrat could soften his stance on the topline number following days of tense negotiations on President Biden’s signature piece of legislation.

Facebook Director of Policy Communications Lena Pietsch argued Haugen "worked for the company for less than two years, had no direct reports, never attended a decision-point meeting with C-level executives – and testified more than six times to not working on the subject matter in question."

Both parties are capable of guaranteeing the U.S. doesn't default – Democrats by moving on to reconciliation and Republicans by voting for Schumer's cloture motion.

The U.S. would have one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world under a Democratic proposal that would overhaul the nation's tax code.

Sen. Susan Collins suggested this week that some Republican lawmakers could support an effort to raise the debt ceiling if Democrats agreed to abandon President Biden's $3.5 trillion bill.

A leading conservative issue advocacy group is launching a new website spotlighting what it calls House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's "Socialist Spending Spree" as it targets the Democrats’ massive, multitrillion-dollar government spending plans.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a Tuesday interview on CNBC that a debt ceiling increase must happen, and refused to take the budget reconciliation process off the table to do it.

President Biden is meeting with House moderates in the 10 a.m. hour on Tuesday after a meeting with House progressives Monday.