WASHINGTON (AP) ? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell, Washington?s odd couple, have a limited set of mutual legislative interests in a capital beset by dysfunction and awash in presidential politics.
But automatic spending cuts, the legacy of a budget breakdown eight years ago, are bringing the power duo together to see if a deal can be made.
At stake are tens of billions of dollars for military and domestic programs, money that brings together a broad spectrum of lawmakers, including pragmatists hoping to see the Capitol function.