As expected, Democrats and Republicans have not yet reconciled their budget priorities: Republicans want to bloat the defense budget, while Democrats are clamoring for financial parity between defense and domestic spending.
According to Politico, the negotiations have however been infused with bipartisan will to strike a deal before Draconian cuts — known as a sequester — would kick in automatically if a compromise is not reached.
Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who has kept up an optimistic tone, is reportedly in charge of wrangling President Donald Trump to ensure that he doesn’t just scuttle the deal when the two sides reach it.
