Senate Passes Temporary Increase In Debt Ceiling Averting Crisis

On Thursday, the Senate voted to temporarily extend the U.S. debt limit until December, a measure to avoid a national default. The vote passed 50-48 in the Senate.

“I thank my Democratic colleagues for showing unity in solving this Republican-manufactured crisis,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said. “Despite immense opposition from Leader McConnell and members of his conference, our caucus held together and we have pulled our country back from the cliff’s edge that Republicans tried to push us over.”

Following the vote, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia), the centrist Democrat, who has been in the middle of the recent deadlocks, implored Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and Schumer, two partisan leaders in the Senate, to reach an agreement promptly.

“I truly implore both leaders … to engage, start working, work this out,” Manchin said. “We have a responsibility to be the adults … we should not have these artificial crises.”

The outcome comes a day after McConnell stated that Republicans would let Democrats pass a short-term debt ceiling raise and just hours after a discussion with Schumer.

Some Republicans showed resentment towards their leader, claiming that McConnell lost in the game of chicken.

“As two trucks drove towards each other on a country road, one or the other was going to turn or you were going to have a lot of dead chickens. I wish Republicans hadn’t blinked,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said following the vote.

The Senate-passed bill will be tossed to the lower chamber. When approved in the House, the bill will then go to President Joe Biden for final signature.

“President Biden looks forward to signing this bill as soon as it passes the House and reaches his desk,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.

“As we approach the coming months, we hope that even more Republicans will join Democrats in responsibly addressing the debt limit instead of choosing default or obstruction.”

Earlier this week, Biden hinted he could use his power to use the so-called “nuclear option,” a proposal from Democrats to carve out filibuster exception, amid the looming fear of default due to the deadlock in the Congress.