The months-long battle to raise the limit on how much money the federal government can borrow cleared its biggest hurdle: the Republican-controlled House, led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

“We didn’t do it by taking the easy way,” McCarthy said. “We decided that we had to spend less, and we achieved that goal. Is it everything I wanted? No. But sitting with one House, with a Democratic Senate, and a Democratic Senate who didn’t want to meet with us, I think we did pretty dang good for the American public.”

Negotiating this bill also marked the first big test of McCarthy’s speakership.

After Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launched his presidential campaign on Twitter last week, he had a more conventional kickoff in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina this week. He spent most of his stump speech going after President Biden, but when talking with reporters, he criticized his top GOP rival, former President Trump, more explicitly.

“He’s attacking me for opposing an immigration amnesty for illegal aliens that he did support when he was president. … He campaigned against that in 2016,” DeSantis said. “I do think, unfortunately, he’s decided to move left on some of these issues.”

And HBO’s flagship drama (or tragic comedy?) “Succession”ended on Sunday night. Author Kurt Andersen says the show “nailed the unreal way we live now.”