Barbara Sprunt Barbara Sprunt is a producer on NPR's Washington Desk.
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Barbara Sprunt

Ariel Zambelich/NPR
Barbara Sprunt 2017
Ariel Zambelich/NPR

Barbara Sprunt

Producer, Washington Desk

Barbara Sprunt is a producer on NPR's Washington desk, where she reports and produces breaking news and feature political content. She formerly produced the NPR Politics Podcast and got her start in radio at as an intern on NPR's Weekend All Things Considered and Tell Me More with Michel Martin. She is an alumnus of the Paul Miller Reporting Fellowship at the National Press Foundation. She is a graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., and a Pennsylvania native.

Story Archive

Thursday

House approves the debt ceiling measure as the default deadline looms

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Wednesday

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy talks to reporters as he walks to the House floor for a procedural vote ahead of the final vote for H.R. 3746 - Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 on May 31. Drew Angerer/Getty Images hide caption

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Drew Angerer/Getty Images

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy projected confidence Tuesday, saying he has the votes to pass a compromise piece of legislation to raise the debt ceiling. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption

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Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Tuesday

The House considers bill that would raise debt ceiling

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Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, speaks during the House Freedom Caucus news conference to oppose the debt limit deal outside of the Capitol on May 30. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images hide caption

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Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Monday

A statue of George Washington in the rotunda of the US Capitol on April 16, 2009 in Washington, DC. KAREN BLEIER/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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KAREN BLEIER/AFP via Getty Images

A Reporter's Tour Of The US Capitol

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Friday

Speaker of the House Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks to members of the media after arriving at the U.S. Capitol on May 26, 2023 in Washington, DC. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption

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Win McNamee/Getty Images

Looming Default, SCOTUS Shadow Docket, And 1000 Daily Episodes

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Wednesday

Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., and Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., speak to reporters about negotiations on the debt limit outside of the House Republican conference meeting on Capitol Hill. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption

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Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Low-key Louisiana lawmaker tapped to help lead GOP debt negotiations

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Top Republican debt crisis mediators Rep. Garret Graves, R-La. (left), and Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C. (center), update reporters on the talks with the Biden administration at the Capitol on Tuesday. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption

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J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Debt ceiling talks aren't going well. Here's where they stand

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Monday

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks to members of the media outside his office at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on May 22, 2023. MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

Debt ceiling negotiations to resume after breaking down over the last few days

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President Joe Biden meets with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of Calif., to discuss the debt limit in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday. It lasted a little over an hour. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption

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Alex Brandon/AP

Sunday

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks with members of the press from Capitol Hill on Sunday after participating in a phone call on the debt ceiling with President Joe Biden. Patrick Semansky/AP hide caption

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Patrick Semansky/AP

Friday

Democratic Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont, flanked by Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Ed Markey of Massachusetts, addressed concerns about debt limit negotiations during a press conference on Thursday. A group of Senate Democrats sent a letter to President Biden urging him to invoke the 14th Amendment to avoid a debt default if he can't reach a deal with Republicans. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

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Alex Wong/Getty Images

Democrats, worried about a Biden-McCarthy deal, push a backup plan to avoid default

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Tuesday

President Joe Biden (R), joined by Vice President Kamala Harris, speaks during a meeting regarding the debt limit, with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other congressional leaders in the White House's Oval Office on Tuesday. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Debt ceiling talks to resume between Biden and top congressional leaders

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Tuesday

President Biden (center) meets with top congressional leaders from both parties at the White House on Tuesday afternoon to talk about the debt limit. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Thursday

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., returns to the Senate after being admitted to the hospital for clinical depression. Keren Carrión/NPR hide caption

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Keren Carrión/NPR

John Fetterman wants to 'pay it forward' by speaking openly about his depression

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Kevin McCarthy's proposal for the looming debt limit would slash federal spending

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Wednesday

Tuesday

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pushed back at Democrats' effort to temporarily swap in another Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee as Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., recovers from shingles. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images