Treasury Secretary, Jacob Lew, has warned that the U.S. will breach its “debt ceiling” on November 3, if Congress does not act to raise it. While raising the debt ceiling has been used in the past as a leverage point for negotiations on other issues, President Obama indicated on Friday that he would veto anything less than a “clean bill” to raise the limit. The House is expected to vote on the bill next week. House Freedom Caucus members will likely oppose the bill, meaning outgoing Speaker John Boehner will have to rely on Democratic votes as he “clear the barn” of these contentious issues before passing the gavel to a successor.

As if doubling the national debt during his term isn’t enough, the agenda of the political class in Washington could not be more clear. The word “ceiling” means nothing,  and making a real budget is not in the future either.

h/t PopVox