<em>The Atlantic</em> Daily: The Path of Least Resistance
What We’re Following
It’s a Deal: The Senate has reached a bipartisan budget agreement that lays out federal spending for the next two years. Republicans pushed for an increase in military funding, while Democrats called for money to address the opioid crisis, infrastructure, and other domestic programs. Both parties got what they wanted, but the result, if the budget is passed, will be a $300 billion spending increase that—on top of the GOP’s recently enacted tax cut—contributes substantially to the national debt. That prospect has some House conservatives refusing to support the deal.
White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter has resigned in the wake of published allegations from two of his ex-wives that he physically and verbally abused them. casting doubt on early hopes that he’d bring order and judgment to the White House. Meanwhile, President Trump caused an outcry with a proposal for a military parade in Washington, D.C.— though common in other countries. And the president’s advisers are reportedly urging him not to speak under oath to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, but
