'A deal is a deal': Biden White House letting GOP 'drama' and 'chaos' define spending fight

With the possibility of a federal government shutdown drawing closer and closer, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) is struggling to work out a funding agreement with members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus. But many of them have been obstinate, raising fears that a shutdown will not be avoided.

In an article published by Politico on September 20, journalists Jennifer Haberkorn and Adam Cancryn report that the Biden White House is in no hurry to intervene in the "drama" and "chaos" that McCarthy is facing from far-right members of his caucus.

President Joe Biden's allies, according to the reporters, are "resigned to the reality that there's little they can do now to fix the situation and confident the politics will play out their way."

According to Haberkorn and Cancryn, "President Joe Biden has steered well clear of the chaos engulfing the House, where Republicans are battling each other over a government funding bill. Within the White House, aides have settled on a hardline strategy aimed at pressuring McCarthy to stick to a spending deal he struck with Biden back in May rather than attempt to patch together a new bipartisan bill."

A Biden White House official, interviewed on condition of anonymity, told Politico that the "chaos" within McCarthy's caucus "is making the case that" House Republicans "are responsible if there is a shutdown."

That official argued, "We agreed to the budget deal, and a deal is a deal. (The) House GOP should abide by it."