Decoding Biden's Debt-Deal Tactics.

President Biden's team was willing to give Republicans victory on political talking points in the debt-limit negotiations, but wanted to win on substance in the details of the text and side deals. They agreed to structure the cuts so they appeared to save $1.5 trillion over a decade, but thanks to side deals and accounting tricks, the actual cuts could total as little as $136 billion over the two enforceable years of the spending caps that are central to the agreement. The deal included new work requirements that could push 750,000 people off food stamps, which the Biden team begrudgingly concluded it had to accept.