There is confidence inside the West Wing that the next standoff — slated for December — will end in a deal with Republicans like the last one did.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell may be insisting that he won’t help President Joe Biden and Democrats solve a debt ceiling impasse again.
But White House officials are still planning for the Kentucky Republican to climb down as yet another deadline approaches in December, after he convinced 10 Republican colleagues to break the logjam last week.
Inside the White House, aides don’t view McConnell’s insistence as a hard “no.” Instead, they consider the recent vote in the Senate to raise the debt limit for two months a harbinger for the future, underscoring that Republicans could easily join Democrats through regular order if need be.