Women Lead Spending, China Spat in Senate Still Dominated by Men

Negotiators charged with pulling the US back from the brink of its latest fiscal cliff looked familiar: A gaggle of elected officials — mostly white men — huddled in Washington’s highest offices edging close as ever to economic disaster.

But cracks are emerging in Washington’s legacy power-broker facade. White House budget chief Shalanda Young took a key role on President Joe Biden’s negotiating team. Young, the former staff director of the House Appropriations Committee, is the first Black woman to lead the budget office. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) ushered a debt ceiling hike through the House in 2021. In ...