White House, congressional leaders reach budget deal

(AP) – Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is promising the Senate will vote on the budget deal agreed to by congressional leaders and the White House before senators leave town for the August recess.

The Republican leader said Monday he’s “very encouraged” by the agreement reached by President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

McConnell says the “reality of divided government means this is not exactly the deal Republicans would have written on our own.”

But he says all sides have made “enormous strides” funding national defense recently and the deal “is what we need to keep building on that progress.”

The deal sets federal funding levels for the next two years and allows continued borrowing. The House is expected to vote first, with the Senate voting before recessing next week.