Republicans may not be able to stop Biden’s agenda

This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a Little Red Corvette of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. Sign up here. Gaming out the GOP plan for blocking B [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a Little Red Corvette of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Gaming out the GOP [plan for blocking Biden](. - Crypto cliffhanger: [Can FTX be saved?]( - An American ally is gearing up for [a war with China](. What the Republicans Can (and Can’t) Do Next Year Still holding your breath for results from the midterm elections? First, don’t say we didn’t warn you [it would be a while](; second, spare a thought for President Joe Biden, who may have to wait until the [Dec. 6 runoff for the Georgia US senate seat]( before he can exhale. One man who isn’t waiting is California Republican Kevin McCarthy, who is moving to secure the speakership of the House before he can be headed off at the pass by the far-right faction of his party. Since the GOP’s majority is likely to be narrower that he had hoped, McCarthy knows he [will have his hands full]( dealing with the unruly Trumpian wing while simultaneously trying to stymie Biden’s agenda. What, realistically, can he hope to achieve? John Authers [runs the rule over the different scenarios](, and notes that experts are divided over whether a small majority increases or decreases the chances McCarthy will be able to engage Biden in a nasty fight over the debt ceiling, the limit on government borrowing that Congress imposes on the federal government. The greatest risk of a drop-down, drag-out fight comes if the Democrats hold the Senate. The two really big congressional conflicts over the debt ceiling, in 2011 and 2013, came with the D’s in charge of the Senate, and the R’s holding a majority in the House. Conor Sen, meanwhile, argues that the Republicans can’t stop a [new wave of government spending]( next year. This, he says, is good news if you're worried about Republicans using their power to slow down the economy. But it's not great news if you’re worried about inflation. Further Midterms Reading: - The most surprising thing about the election results is [the way many Republican candidates have reacted]( to defeat. — Jonathan Bernstein - The tradition of a post-midterm stock rally [isn’t likely to be repeated this time](. — Jonathan Levin FTX Death Watch There may not be quite as many people holding their breath for the next turn in the FTX story, but its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, is still looking for someone to get him out of an $8 billion hole. SBF, as he’s known, says he’ll [“give anything”]( for capital. But will anybody bite? Matt Levine examined the various possibilities and concludes that any potential rescuer will have to take a close look at FTX’s finances and answer this question: [Is it a liquidity problem or a solvency problem?]( If it’s the former, it can be fixed — in theory, anyway. But Lionel Laurent thinks [nobody will touch FTX with a bargepole](. That’s not only because of the problems within the company, but also because the whole crypto market is looking very fragile. Further Crypto Reading:  Instead of revolutionizing finance, [crypto is largely repeating its mistakes](. — Bloomberg’s editorial board Chart of the Day The prospect of war in the Taiwan Strait is [forging Australia, Japan and the US into a latter-day Triple Entente](, says Hal Brands in the third of his dispatches from partner nations the US will depend on in its rivalry — and potential war — with China. One consequence: Canberra has been steadily increasing its defense spending. Further Reading Just because Musk has the power to end WFH at Twitter [doesn’t mean he should have](. — Chris Hughes There are encouraging signs Paxlovid may prevent long Covid, [but wait for more data](. — Lisa Jarvis If Lauren Boebert loses in Colorado, [abortion will be the main reason](. — Julianna Goldman Biden’s next energy headache: [a diesel shortage this winter](. — Liam Denning Generous bonuses for British CEOs are [out of sync with the times](. — Matthew Brooker Tech moguls blaming their excessive optimism for huge layoffs are [not telling the whole story](. — Parmy Olson A price cap on Russian oil makes economic sense, but [it risks dangerous retaliation](. — Tyler Cowen Markets are indulging in magical thinking over the [Japanese central bank’s priorities](. — Daniel Moss and Gearoid Reidy Ireland’s banking authorities may have [prioritized stability]( at the expense of competition. — Marc Rubinstein ICYMI [US inflation has cooled](, giving the Fed room to slow interest-rate hikes. Trump Organization controller’s testimony suggests the [former president knew of alleged tax dodges](. [Keurig Dr Pepper CEO resigns]( on code-of-conduct violations after four months in the role. A shrunken Mississippi is creating [a logjam of US food exports](. Russia might ease restrictions [on child labor]( thanks to the economic struggles caused by Vladimir Putin’s war. The EU is [raising the emissions bar]( for its last generation of combustion engines. Kickers If you’d won the [$2.4 billion Powerball jackpot](, would you have … … bought some of [Paul Allen’s $1.5 billion art collection]( ... … or a bunch of villas on[the Riviera’s “Billionaire’s Peninsula”]( … … or a [small European soccer club?]( Notes:  Please send your raspberries and berets to Bobby Ghosh at aghosh73@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Instagram](, [TikTok](, [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. Like getting this newsletter? 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