The Senate passed a measure to create a one-time rule change on Thursday to allow Democrats to pass legislation to raise the debt ceiling with just 51 votes ahead of next week’s deadline.
The bill passed in a 59-35 vote.
Earlier in the day, the chamber voted to close debate in a 64-36 vote in the evenly divided chamber, with 14 Republicans joining all 50 Democrats in voting to advance the measure to a final vote.
Some conservative Republicans had objected to the move, arguing that Democrats should use the reconciliation process to pass a debt ceiling increase with a 51-vote majority while they simultaneously push President Biden’s sweeping social spending bill costing nearly $2 trillion.
“They have been spending money on a partisan basis without input from Republicans,” argued Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD). “So they have an obligation to increase the debt ceiling at this point, because … the vast majority of the debt which is going to be increasing is going to be because of their actions over the last 12 months.”
However, leaders from both parties asserted that they did not want to see the nation default on its financial obligations.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was one of the 14 Republicans who supported the rule change, joining John Thune of South Dakota, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Susan Collins of Maine, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Joni Ernst of Iowa, John Cornyn of Texas, Mitt Romney of Utah, and Rob Portman of Ohio.
Congress previously passed a short-term debt limit extension in September to provide Democrats more time to craft a plan to avert an economic crisis.
But Schumer and McConnell were ultimately able to strike a deal giving Democrats a path to passage that doesn’t involve reconciliation, a process that could potentially take weeks.
“The proposal I worked on with Leader McConnell will allow Democrats to do precisely what we’ve been seeking to do for months, what I’ve been coming down to the floor advocating for since the fall: Provide a simple majority vote to fix the debt ceiling without having to resort to a convoluted, lengthy, and ultimately risky process,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on the floor before the vote. “The nation’s debt has been incurred on a bipartisan basis, so I’m pleased that this responsible action will be taken today to facilitate a process that avoids a default.”
The language to approve the process — which allows for a debt ceiling increase that is subject to a set dollar amount instead of a blanket hike — was added to a popular legislative measure to prevent cuts to Medicare.
Once President Biden signs the legislation allowing for the creation of the fast-track process, lawmakers are expected to swiftly work to craft and pass a bill raising the debt ceiling ahead of Dec. 15, the deadline set by the Treasury Department.
