When President Biden delivers his State of the Union 2023 address Tuesday evening, he'll have a new person peering over his left shoulder: Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
In a new era of divided government, the two men will be forced to forge deals on a wide range of issues over the coming two years. Most immediately, they'll need to figure out how to deescalate a standoff over the debt ceiling that could crater the economy, if it isn't resolved before the U.S. defaults on its debt.
