The Senate passed a one-time rule change on Thursday allowing Democrats to force a debt ceiling increase without any Republican votes needed ahead of next week’s deadline.
“The rule change was approved by a 64-36 vote in the evenly divided chamber, with 14 Republicans joining all 50 Democrats in voting for its passage,” the New York Post reported. “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,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) said. “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.”
Congress previously passed an extension on the debt limit in September so that Democrats could use the reconciliation process to raise the debt ceiling. However, with the support of 14 Republicans – including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) – the Democrats were able to figure out a different way to further increase U.S. debt.
“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 ahead of 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.”
