You have to give some credit to the new Republican House majority: The first week of their new reign was hilarious. Between several days of watching Kevin McCarthy get subjected to ritual humiliation and New York Congressman George Santos's total commitment to ensuring that not a day would pass without fresh "revelations" about his haphazardly constructed lies, this has been a period of peak content. While it may have been possible for Democrats, like Katie Porter, to practice "the subtle art of not giving a fuck" during this period, I'm sorry to say that the time for chortling is over—and the fuckery that the GOP's House majority has planned will be anything but subtle. 

Already there's been a lot of hot talk about Star Chamber–style investigations and possible impeachments. The House is in session, in chaos, and there's not much to be done about it until the next election. But there's one concern that stands out: the likelihood that the GOP will drag the country to the brink of a debt default, and perhaps even push us over the edge. I know, I know: How many times are we going to go through this? The Democrats had a chance to disarm this ticking time bomb during the lame-duck session but chose not to. Now it's essentially understood that the threat of a debt limit default is back for the duration.