The reality is that the Biden White House and Democrats made a bad bet. They believed that, because of the fight over the Speaker’s gavel, the debt ceiling issue would cause the Republican caucus to fracture. Members to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s right, they thought, would outright prevent a debt ceiling increase, rather than push for legislation that increased the debt ceiling while curtailing spending. Without anything coming out of the House, Democrats believed McCarthy would come to the negotiating table without any leverage. If a deal was struck to increase the debt ceiling, they believed the House Freedom Caucus and other members to the right of McCarthy would once again go to war with the Speaker and even potentially use the motion to vacate they fought for to evict him from the Speaker’s office. If all else failed, Democrats thought maybe Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell would come to their rescue.

To Biden and the Democrats’ chagrin, that’s not how it played out. …

Republicans are willing to do what Democrats thought they wouldn’t: raise the debt ceiling. And that’s precisely what has sent Democrats spiraling. “Look, it’s a new day in Washington, DC, people demanded a change in the status quo,” Perry said. Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

Oh, and, per the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Treasury Department is “quietly laying the groundwork for potentially delaying some payments after June 1.”