Obama, Congress Reach Debt Deal

At long last: President Obama and Republican congressional leaders reached historic agreement tonight on a compromise to permit vital US borrowing by the Treasury in exchange for more than $2 trillion in long-term spending cuts. Officials said John Boehner telephoned Obama at mid-evening to say the agreement had been struck. No votes were expected in either house of Congress until tomorrow at the earliest, to give rank and file lawmakers time to review the package.

• Harry Reid said that both his party and opposition Republicans gave more ground than they wanted to. He said it'll take members of both political parties to pass the measure.
• Mitch McConnell said that the pact "will ensure significant cuts in Washington spending" and he assured the markets that a first-ever default on US obligations won't occur.
• John Boehner said the pact he reached with the president and other leaders of Congress "isn't the greatest deal" but lives up to the GOP's principles on taxes and spending.

(More debt ceiling stories.)