Vox Sentences - Debt ceiling deal faces GOP opposition

Debt ceiling deal tests Kevin McCarthy’s House leadership; Uganda passes severe anti-LGBTQ legislation.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

The debt ceiling faces Republican revolt

Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

• Wednesday, lawmakers are scheduled to vote on a bill to suspend the US debt limit in a significant test of Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s leadership. [Vox / Li Zhou]

• After weeks of negotiations, President Joe Biden and McCarthy reached a deal in principle to lift the US debt ceiling until 2025 and limit government spending for two years. [Vox / Li Zhou and Dylan Matthews]
• It would also add work requirements for food stamp recipients ages 50-55, which led to criticism from progressive Democrats who wanted Biden to refuse any concessions. [Politico]
• Meanwhile, McCarthy faces threats of a revolt from far-right Republicans who wanted deeper spending cuts and more policy changes. [The Hill / Emily Brooks]
• Since the GOP narrowly controls the House, McCarthy will need support from roughly half of Democrats and half of Republicans to send the bill to the Senate. [Associated Press / Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking, and Stephen Groves]
• If no deal is reached, the Treasury warns the US could default on its loans as soon as June 5, which could lead to major job losses and global economic catastrophe. [ABC News]

📍 If you read just one story

Vox’s Christian Paz explains why most people are checked out of the debt ceiling debate despite the disastrous consequences of a US default. [Vox / Christian Paz]

Uganda's strict anti-gay legislation

• Monday, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni signed a law that imposes life in prison for anyone who has gay sex and the death penalty for some acts. [New York Times / Abdi Latif Dahir]
• Homosexuality is already criminalized in Uganda, but now LGBTQ advocates could face up to 20 years in prison. [Vox / Ellen Ioanes]
• The UN warned the added stigma and shame from the new law could undermine Uganda’s efforts to fight HIV/AIDS. [BBC]
• President Biden ordered officials to evaluate US ties with Uganda and warned the US could sanction anyone violating human rights. In 2014, a Uganda court struck down a similar law amid international pressure. [Axios / Rebecca Falconer]
• Uganda developed some of its anti-gay attitudes from a British colonial law against sodomy; campaigns by Western evangelical groups have deepened anti-LGBTQ sentiment in recent years. [Reuters]

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Experts predict El Niño, the warming of Pacific Ocean temperatures, and human-caused climate change will help bring record-breaking temperatures to much of the globe in 2023. [Vox / Umair Irfan]

• Tuesday, disgraced former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes will begin serving an 11-year sentence for defrauding investors in the blood-testing startup. [NPR / Bobby Allyn]
• Dozens of industry experts have warned that the development of artificial intelligence could lead to human extinction and requires global attention like nuclear war or pandemics. [BBC / Chris Vallance]
• Russia blamed Ukraine for a drone attack that hit residential buildings and injured two in Moscow on Tuesday. Ukraine denied any involvement in the strikes. [Vox / Nicole Narea]

“The Republicans did not win any major concessions on spending. There is no meaningful debt reduction here ... what [Republicans] do get is some of their extreme ideological priorities.”

[Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), chair of the 100-member Congressional Progressive Caucus, on the debt ceiling bill / CNBC]

Punching in movies, explained by someone getting punched repeatedly. [YouTube]

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