On this episode of Neutral World, the House voted Wednesday to pass a bill raising the nation's

debt ceiling after days of wrangling Republican lawmakers to unify behind the package, which

would bolster House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's position at the negotiating table with the White

House.

The final vote was 217-215, with four Republicans voting against the bill.

It was an extraordinary achievement, and the fact that the bill passed, I think changes

the whole scene in Washington, and it puts the Republicans in the House right at the center

of the negotiating table.

Here to discuss the future of the debt ceiling debate, and it's very important historic

implications, I'm really pleased to welcome my guest, Veronique de Rougie, she's the

George Gibbs Chair in Political Economy and Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center,

at George Mason University, and a nationally syndicated columnist.

Veronique, welcome, and thank you for joining me on this world.

Thank you for having me.

You are so knowledgeable in this area, it's going to be a lot of fun, as you know, on April

26th, the House passed the, what the Republicans had called the Limits Save Grow Act of 2023,

to sign their learning for the Democrats, how to make sure they have fancy titles.

It was a very close vote, the Republicans were 217-yes, 4-no, 1-not voting.

The Democrats were 211-nose, 2-not voting, so the margin was pretty darn close.

And at the time, it has been the largest proposed cut in spending ever passed as part of a

debt ceiling.

Now, I'm very curious, from your perspective, how do you see this whole dance of the

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