In the coming weeks and months, the highest priority for Congress and the Trump Administration will be to find a resolution to the stalemate on the U.S. debt ceiling, which was hit last March. Congress and the Administration must break the impasse by raising the ceiling before about August or September, at which time the government is expected to run out of money.

In addition to scaling that fiscal cliff, they must agree to a budget for the new fiscal year and avoid $120 billion in automatic spending cuts under the sequestration process. Without a budget deal, mandatory cuts will kick in.

Unfortunately, at a meeting last week Congressional leaders and the White House, failed to agree to lift the spending caps for non-defense programs. Moreover, with a divided Congress, it’s highly unlikely that an agreement can be reached without raising the spending caps for both defense and non-defense programs. The general view from D.C. is that the preferred policy would be to lift the caps and suspend the debt ceiling for two years, which would presumably take 2020 election posturing out of the talks.

In a much covered non-meeting, President Trump and Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer had a long planned follow up conclave on the infrastructure program tentatively ...

Unlock this article with a FREE 30-Day Trial!

An FSI Pro, FSI Macro, or FSI Crypto subscription is required in order to access this content.

*Free trial available only on a monthly plan

Disclosures (show)

Get invaluable analysis of the market and stocks. Cancel at any time. Start Free Trial

Articles Read 2/2

🎁 Unlock 1 extra article by joining our Community!

You’ve reached your limit of 2 free monthly articles. Please enter your email to unlock 1 more articles.

Already have an account? Sign In

Want to receive Regular Market Updates to your Inbox?

I am your default error :)