The return of the debt ceiling

When Wednesday ends, the federal government won't be able to go any further into debt until Congress gives its permission.

That permission will only be granted after several months of agonizing among Republicans, many of whom don't want to increase the debt at all and want to start making real cuts to spending. In those months, Democrats will argue that Republicans are putting the U.S. at risk of default by not allowing more borrowing.

The debt ceiling has returned.

But unlike past debt crises, deficit hawks are hoping this new chapter ends differently — not with more unrestrained borrowing, but with some kind of commitment to reverse decades of habits that have allowed the national debt to hit $19.9 trillion.

President Trump's election victory is giving conservatives hope, and the White House so far has indicated that it doesn't want this debt crisis to go to waste.