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Hard-fought to the end, the debt ceiling and budget cuts package is heading toward a crucial U.S. House vote as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy assemble a coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans to push it to passage over fierce blowback from conservatives and some progressive dissent. Biden is sending top White House officials to meet early Wednesday at the Capitol to shore up support ahead of voting. McCarthy is working furiously to sell skeptical fellow Republicans, even fending off challenges to his leadership, in the rush to avert a potentially disastrous U.S. default. Despite deep disappointment from right-flank Republicans that the compromise falls short of the spending cuts they demanded, McCarthy insisted he would have the votes needed to ensure approval. “We’re going to pass the bill,” McCarthy said as he exited a lengthy late Tuesday night meeting at the Capitol. Quick approval by the House and later in the week the Senate would ensure government checks will continue to go out to Social Security recipients, veterans and others, and prevent financial upheaval at home and abroad. Next Monday is when Treasury has said the U.S. would run short of money to pay its debts, risking an economically dangerous default. The package leaves few lawmakers fully satisfied, but Biden and McCarthy are counting on pulling majority support from the political center, a rarity in divided Washington, testing the leadership of the president and the Republican speaker. Overall, the 99-page bill restricts spending for the next two years, suspends the debt ceiling into January 2025 and changes policies, including new work requirements for older Americans receiving food aid and greenlighting a controversial Appalachian natural gas line that many Democrats oppose. For more than two hours late Tuesday as aides wheeled in pizza at the Capitol, McCarthy walked Republicans through the details, fielded questions and encouraged them not to lose sight of the bill’s budget savings. The speaker faced a sometimes tough crowd. Leaders of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus spent the day lambasting the compromise as falling well short of the spending cuts they demand, and they vowed to try to halt passage by Congress. “This deal fails, fails completely," Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., the chairman of the Freedom Caucus, said earlier in the day, flanked by others outside the Capitol. “We will do everything in our power to stop it.” A much larger conservative faction, the Republican Study Committee, declined to take a position. Even rank-and-file centrist conservatives were not sure, leaving McCarthy desperately hunting for votes. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said after the “healthy debate” late into the night she was still a no. Ominously, the conservatives warned of potentially trying to oust McCarthy over the compromise. “There’s going to be a reckoning,” said Rep. Chip Roy of Texas. Biden was speaking directly to lawmakers, making more than 100 one-on-one calls, the White House said. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the spending restrictions in the package would reduce deficits by $1.5 trillion over the decade, a top goal for the Republicans trying to curb the debt load. McCarthy told lawmakers that number was higher if the two-year spending caps were extended, which is no guarantee. But in a surprise that could further erode Republican support, the GOP's drive to impose work requirements on older Americans receiving food stamps ends up boosting spending by $2.1 billion over the time period. That's because the final deal exempted veterans and homeless people, expanding the food stamp rolls by some 78,000 people monthly, the CBO said. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said it was up to McCarthy to turn out votes from some two-thirds of the Republican majority, a high bar the speaker may not be able to reach. Some 218 votes are needed for passage in the 435-member House. Still, Jeffries said the Democrats would do their part to avoid failure. “It is my expectation that House Republicans would keep their promise and deliver at least 150 votes as it relates to an agreement that they themselves negotiated,” Jeffries said. “Democrats will make sure that the country does not default.” Liberal Democrats decried the new work requirements for older Americans, those 50-54, in the food aid program. And some Democratic lawmakers were leading an effort to remove the surprise provision for the Mountain Valley Pipeline natural gas project. The energy development is important to Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., but many others oppose it as unhelpful in fighting climate change. The top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, said including the pipeline provision was “disturbing and profoundly disappointing.” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, had this warning for McCarthy: “He got us here, and it’s on him to deliver the votes." Wall Street was taking a wait-and-see approach. Stock prices were mixed in Tuesday's trading. U.S. markets had been closed when the deal was struck over the weekend. The House aims to vote Wednesday and send the bill to the Senate, where Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Republican leader McConnell are working for passage by week's end. Schumer called the bill a “sensible compromise.” McConnell said McCarthy “deserves our thanks.” Senators, who have remained largely on the sidelines during much of the negotiations between the president and the House speaker, began inserting themselves more forcefully into the debate. Some senators are insisting on amendments to reshape the package from both the left and right flanks. But making any changes to the package at this stage seemed unlikely with so little time to spare before Monday's deadline. ___ Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri, Mary Clare Jalonick and Seung Min Kim contributed to this report. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Changes to food aid in debt bill would cost money, far from savings GOP envisioned GOP chairman moves to hold FBI director Wray in contempt over Biden doc Debt limit agreement clears first hurdle. Here’s what happens next

The bipartisan agreement to raise the debt limit cleared a key hurdle on Tuesday evening despite vehement criticism from many House Republicans. The House Rules Committee voted 7-6 to advance the legislation that codifies the bipartisan agreement struck between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s team and negotiators from President Joe Biden’s administration. The rule will now go to the full House floor before the agreement comes to a full House vote. The rule passed after an hours-long deliberation in the committee that included multiple amendment proposals. The vote comes as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the United States will be unable to satisfy its debt obligations come 5 June. The House of Representatives is set to vote But many House Republicans raised objections, including members of the House Freedom Caucus who had previously opposed Mr McCarthy’s bid for speaker in January. Rep Andy Biggs (R - AZ) told The Independent that Mr McCarthy’s deal with the White House was a repeat of his past behaviour. “When he was been in leadership for 13 years, it was not uncommon for him to be the point man to go negotiate a spending cap deal with the Democrats,” he said. Many Republicans criticised the fact that the legislation keeps in place Mr Biden’s student loan forgiveness, only claws back a small sliver of money meant to increase funding for the Internal Revenue Service and raises the debt limit until January 2025, after the 2024 presidential election. Rep Bob Good (R - VA) told The Independent that the bill symbolised a surrender from House Republican leadership. “We have literally come together and our leadership and their leadership and agreed on a Democrat bill,” Mr Good told The Independent. But many allies of Mr McCarthy also opposed the legislation. Rep Nancy Mace (R - SC), who voted for Mr McCarthy for speaker in January, announced her opposition to the bill. “Washington is, was and always will be lousy at responsibly spending your tax dollars,” she tweeted. “That won’t change unless we demand change.” Rep Chip Roy (R - TX) refuted the idea that conservatives would want the United States to default on its debt obligations. “The only person who would default in this town is Joe Biden unless Republicans default on the American dream by voting for this bad bill,” he said at a press conference. “That is why this group will oppose it, we will continue to fight it, today, tomorrow, and no matter what happens, there’s going to be a reckoning about what just occurred.” Mr Roy had tweeted on Monday that during the negotiations for the speakership, Republican leaders pledged that nothing would pass the Rules Committee without at least seven Republican votes and the committee would not allow for reporting out rules without unanimous Republican votes. During the negotiations, Mr Roy tried to stress his opposition and said why Republicans should oppose the bill. “We're not going to reduce spending through this deal. Unless we actually stand up and reduce spending it'll be on us to choose to,” he said during the hearing. “But this deal isn't going to reduce spending even though everybody's going around saying it will.” But some Republicans stressed that the agreement was the only one that could pass the House and Senate and end up on the president’s desk. “We only control one-half of one-third of government,” Rep Erin Houchin (R - IN) said. “There’s no better deal to be had.” Mr McCarthy expressed confidence in a press conference that he would have enough votes to raise the debt limit. “I’m not sure what in the bill people are concerned about,” he told reporters, saying it is the largest savings in congressional history. “We’re pulling money back for the hard-working taxpayers that are going to China. Are they opposed to work requirements for welfare?” On the Senate side, both Republican and Democratic leaders praised the agreement. “Congress will vote on legislation that locks in that important progress,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R - KY) said in remarks on the Senate floor. “Republicans have a tremendous opportunity to take on an existential challenge facing our economy and future generations of Americans. We have a chance to start bringing Washington Democrats’ reckless spending to heel.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the bill was a reasonable compromise. “Of course, nobody is getting everything they want – there is give on both sides – but this agreement is the responsible, prudent and very necessary way forward,” he said on the Senate floor. Mr Schumer said he would bring the bill up as quickly as possible for consideration before the default deadline on 5 June. Read More Biden ‘optimistic’ about McCarthy negotiations as AOC slams ‘dysfunctional’ debt ceiling system Debt ceiling deal reached between Biden and McCarthy Conservatives bark after the debt limit deal. Will they actually bite McCarthy? GOP chairman moves to hold FBI director Wray in contempt over Biden doc Utah Republican Chris Stewart planning to resign from Congress, AP source says Debt limit deal is in place, but budget deficit is still a multi-decade challenge for US government

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Elizabeth Holmes has reported to prison today to begin her 11-year sentence for the blood-testing scam at the heart of her start-up, Theranos. Wearing a beige sweater, jeans and sneakers, Elizabeth Holmes was directed into Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, by staff from the Federal Bureau of Prisons just minutes before a court-imposed deadline of 2pm on Tuesday. A federal appeals court rejected her bid to remain out of prison earlier this month while she attempts to overturn her January 2022 conviction on four felony counts of fraud and conspiracy. A delay was granted to give Holmes time to sort out several issues, including child care for her one-year-old son William and three-month-old daughter Invicta. Holmes had originally been ordered to begin her prison sentence on 27 April. The father of both children is William “Billy” Evans, whom she met after breaking up with her former romantic and business partner, Ramesh “Sunny,” Balwani, who began serving a nearly 13-year prison sentence last month in Southern California. Holmes spent the Memorial Day weekend near her home in San Diego before surrendering to authorities on 30 May. Read More Elizabeth Holmes surrenders to federal prison in Texas to begin 11-year sentence for Theranos scandal Elizabeth Holmes prison: Everything we know about disgraced Theranos founder going to jail Who is Billy Evans, the husband of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes? Camp Bryan: What do we know about the prison holding Elizabeth Holmes? Selfless visionary or scheming grifter? Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes sentenced to 11 years in prison

Elizabeth Holmes has surrendered to a federal prison in Texas to begin her 11-year sentence over the Theranos scandal which rocked the high-flying tech world of Silicon Valley. The 39-year-old disgraced tech entrepreneur reported to Bryan, the minimum-security federal prison camp in Texas, on Tuesday after exhausting all remaining legal avenues to cling onto her freedom. Holmes was convicted in January 2022 of four counts of fraud and conspiracy for lying about the capabilities pf her biotech company’s blood testing technology and conning investors out of millions of dollars. She was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison and ordered to pay $452m in restitution to investors – including $125m to media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Holmes had been given until 2pm local time to surrender to the prison camp where she will see out her 11-year sentence surrounded by other white-collar, non-violent female offenders. Her two children – two-year-old William and three-month-old Invicta – will be allowed to visit their mother in the facility. The prison camp, which runs a work-focused program where all inmates are required to hold a job for at least 90 days, is a marked difference from Holmes’ life years earlier when she was seen as the darling of Silicon Valley. The saga began two decades ago when Holmes dropped out of Stanford University in 2003 at the age of 19 to found Theranos. The blood lab company aimed to develop medical devices that could diagnose hundreds of diseases and medical conditions with just a pinprick of blood. Over the next 10 years, Theranos boasted about its capabilities to transform the healthcare industry and grew to a value of $9bn, attracting investments from the likes of Murdoch, former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the heirs to the Walmart fortune. The company amassed an influential board of directors including former presidential cabinet members George Shultz, Henry Kissinger and James Mattis. Holmes, meanwhile, was catapulted onto magazine covers and became heralded as the next Steve Jobs while her personal fortune reached $4.5bn. But the technology didn’t do close to what Holmes claimed it could. In 2018, Holmes – Theranos CEO and founder – and Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani – Theranos chief operating officer and Holmes’ live-in romantic partner – were both indicted on fraud charges and the company was dissolved. She was allowed out on bail and while awaiting trial – which was stalled due to the Covid-19 pandemic – Holmes became pregnant with her first child with her partner, hotel boss Billy Evans. She became pregnant with her second child following her conviction. During her trial, Holmes sought to paint a picture that she had simply been under the control of Balwani, 57, and that she never intended to mislead investors about the technology’s capabilities. The jury didn’t buy it and she was convicted of four counts, which could have landed her with up to 20 years’ prison time. Balwani was also convicted of 12 counts of fraud and conspiracy at his trial and was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison. He began serving his sentence in Southern California last month. Since her conviction, Holmes has fought to stay out of prison claiming that she was treated unfairly by prosecutors during trial and that she should be allowed to remain out of prison while she appeals the conviction. An appeals court denied her request and said she must report to prison where she can continue to appeal her conviction behind bars. She asked the judge that she be allowed to remain free through Memorial Day weekend so that she could sort out childcare for her two children, before surrendering to authorities on 30 May. Weeks before beginning her sentence, Holmes admitted that she had made “many mistakes” in a new interview with The New York Times. “I made so many mistakes and there was so much I didn’t know and understand, and I feel like when you do it wrong, it’s like you really internalise it in a deep way,” she said. Read More Elizabeth Holmes news – latest: Theranos founder to surrender to Texas prison today to begin 11-year sentence As Elizabeth Holmes heads to prison for fraud, questions remain about her motives Elizabeth Holmes requests May 30 as new date to report to prison after losing her bid to remain free

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Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is about to begin her 11-year prison sentence after being found guilty of defrauding investors, including media mogul Rupert Murdoch, over fake claims about the company’s blood-testing capabilities. As well as being handed jail time over her role in misleading investors, Holmes was also ordered to pay $452m in restitution. Follow the latest updates live “This is a fraud case where an exciting venture went forward with great expectations and hope, only to be dashed by untruth, misrepresentations, hubris, and plain lies,” Judge Davila, presiding over the case, said before handing down the prison sentence to Holmes. “I suppose we step back and we look at this, and we think, what is the pathology of fraud? Is it the inability or the refusal to accept responsibility or express contrition in any way? Now, perhaps that is the cautionary tale that will go forward from this case.” Ahead of being sentenced, Holmes, who has long maintained she did not intend to defraud anyone, told the court: “I am devastated by my failings. “Every day for the past years I have felt deep pain for what people went through because I failed them. I regret my failings with every cell of my body.” Where will Holmes serve her sentence Holmes, who requested 18 months of house arrest as a punishment, will begin her sentence at Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas – an all-female facility 100 miles from Holmes’ hometown. The minimum security prison houses around 500 inmates, and runs a variety of programmes intended to prepare prisoners for life after incarceration, according to Camp Bryan’s handbook. Holmes’ day will begin at 6am, when inmates are woken up for meals and work; people failing to comply with the strict wakeup rules are subject to punishments. Inmates are then counted at five different times during the day, when they must assemble in specific areas (once again, punishments are doled out to those who are not present at these times). The prison features a study, game room, and work programmes that see all inmates take part in a six-week course on the importance of efficiency in the workplace before they are placed into a role – with some prisoners earning as little as $0.12 in some assignments. According to the handbook, “All designated inmates are required to develop a financial plan to meet their financial obligations”, which for Holmes will mean reparations of $452m. How will Holmes keep in touch with her family? Holmes is married to Billy Evans, and the pair have two children, William, 2, and newborn Invicta. She lives around 100 miles from her family, who will be permitted to visit at weekends. Inmates at Camp Bryan are also permitted to take part in video sessions with their friends and family, according to the handbook, as well as to send and receive text messages. Prior to beginning her sentence at Camp Bryan, Holmes spent the weekend with her husband and children at the beach.

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