Vox Sentences - New year, same debt ceiling fight

The US reaches its debt limit with no agreement in sight; New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern resigns.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

The US reached its debt ceiling. Now what?

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

• The Treasury Department on Thursday enacted “extraordinary measures” after the US reached its debt limit — the total amount the federal government can borrow. [Vox / Madeleine Ngo]
• The temporary accounting tools will keep things running until June when the government will likely exhaust its $31.4 trillion spending cap. [Associated Press / Josh Boak]
• If the debt limit isn’t increased before June, the US could default on its debt for the first time in history. [New York Times / Jim Tankersley and Alan Rappeport]
• That would roil the global economy and harm Americans who rely on government borrowing for benefits like Medicare and Social Security payments. [CNBC / Lorie Konish]
• To become House speaker, Rep. Kevin McCarthy promised his caucus he’d use a debt ceiling fight to force Democrats to cut spending. [Vox / Andrew Prokop]
• However, the White House has refused to negotiate the borrowing limit, and Senate Democrats are against cuts. Unless a deal is made, the US could reach June unable to pay its bills. [CNN / Tami Luhby]

📍 If you read just one story

Vox’s Dylan Matthews explains how Biden could use executive action to void the debt ceiling — and the risks that come with it. [Vox / Dylan Matthews]

Jacinda Arden is leaving office

• Thursday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced she’s resigning by February 7 due to burnout. [BBC / Tiffanie Turnbull]
• Since her 2017 election, Ardern has received international praise for her rapid response to the 2019 Christchurch massacre and early measures to curb Covid-19. [AP / Nick Perry]
• However, in recent months, Ardern’s polling numbers have fallen at home amid criticism over her government’s response to crime and an affordable housing crisis. [Reuters / Praveen Menon]
• It’s unclear who will lead the country until October 14 general elections, but Arden’s Labour Party expects to find a replacement before Ardern departs. [NPR / Ashley Westerman]

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The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in Groff v. DeJoy, a case that could grant religious conservatives more power in determining workplace operations. [Vox / Ian Millhiser]

• Alec Baldwin and weapons handler Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will be charged with involuntary manslaughter over the 2021 on-set shooting death of Rust cinematographer. [ABC News / Meredith Deliso]
• The US and its European allies are working to convince Germany to send Ukraine tanks, but Berlin won’t agree until the US sends its own. [Politico / Alexander Ward, Lara Seligman, and Paul McLeary]
• Florida won’t offer new AP African American studies classes in its high schools over claims the content violates state law. [NYT / Patricia Mazzei and Anemona Hartocollis]

“Even just the specter that the United States might not honor its obligations does damage to the economy.”

[National Economic Council Director Brian Deese on the debt ceiling fight / CNN]

It's debt ceiling season

House Republicans are refusing to raise the US debt ceiling without huge concessions. Vox’s Dylan Matthews explains why we have a debt ceiling to begin with (and how President Biden could bypass it).

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