House passes budget deal

WASHINGTON—The U.S. House of Representatives passed a new budget deal Thursday in a 284-149 vote. The bill, which now goes to the Senate for approval, would raise the debt ceiling, lift budget caps, and allow more spending on both defense and nondefense projects. Although a vast majority of Democrats supported the measure, Republicans were split, with 132 against and 65 voting for the measure.

Why was the GOP split? On Twitter, President Donald Trump urged congressional Republicans to support the deal because of its boost in defense spending. But members of the influential conservative Freedom Caucus called the bill “deeply flawed” in an op-ed published Thursday in USA Today. “Unfortunately, the bipartisan path to bankrupting America has proven more politically expedient—again,” they wrote.

Dig deeper: Read my in-depth analysis on changing fiscal priorities for Republicans in The Stew.