Winners and losers as America at last reaches a budget deal

“General Hospital”DC has the distinction of running longer than any soap opera in American television history. Yet the months-long budget melodrama in Washington, , which mercifully concluded on March 23rd, at times felt destined to become almost as much of a fixture of American life as the medical serial that debuted in 1963.The 2024 fiscal year began nearly six months ago, but only now has Congress managed to pass a long-term budget deal to fully fund the federal government through the remainder of the fiscal year. was ousted as House speaker in October 2023 after preventing a lapse in government funding. , his successor, allowed three more “continuing resolutions” to avoid unnecessary government shutdowns, but the delays culminated in an agreement that differed little from what the White House and Congress had agreed to in principle nearly a year ago.