Pelosi ready for deal on borrowing limit, spending levels

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she wants to complete a deal with President Donald Trump this month that would raise the government’s borrowing limit and set spending levels for the coming budget year.

Pelosi’s office says the California Democrat spoke twice with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday, and she told reporters she is convinced the double-barrelled negotiation needs to be completed before Congress leaves Washington for its August recess.

Mnuchin has been urging lawmakers to raise the so-called debt limit soon, warning that the government risks defaulting on U.S. obligations in early to mid-September. Pelosi and Capitol Hill GOP leaders want to pair the unpopular debt measure with a new spending “cap” for the approximately $1.3 trillion in agency budgets appropriated by Congress each year.

Andrew Taylor, The Associated Press