Debt ceiling news – live: Biden signs debt limit bill after hailing deal in Oval Office address

Bill passed after senators rejected 11 proposed amendments

Voting has started as lawmakers agree on a debt limit deal

President Joe Biden has signed a bill to raise the national debt limit two days before the default deadline.

The White House announced the signing in a statement on Saturday afternoon, hours after Mr Biden spoke to the nation on Friday evening from the Oval Office and welcomed the bill’s bipartisan passage.

The Senate on Thursday passed a bipartisan agreement forged by Mr Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to raise the $31.4 trillion US debt ceiling after the deal survived a Republican rebellion in the House of Representatives.

The narrowness of the Fiscal Responsibility Act’s passage through the House was made possible through the support of Democrats, who stepped in to thwart a conservative revolt that badly undermined Speaker McCarthy’s claims to control his increasingly divided party.

Full congressional approval was required before Monday 5 June, when the Treasury Department was expected to run out of funds to pay its debts for the first time in American history, triggering likely economic chaos.

Key Points

• Biden addresses the nation and touts debt limit agreement in primetime speech
• Senate passes debt limit bill after marathon 11 amendment votes to avoid default
• Debt limit bill advances in House by vote of 314-117
• Kevin McCarthy ally says White House got ‘schooled’ in debt negotiations
• Does this deal mean the end of McCarthy’s speakership?

[2 June 2023 03:09 · Oliver O'Connell]

One senator absent tonight

Just one senator is not at the Capitol for tonight’s debt limit bill votes, Senator Hagerty.

He is home for his son’s high school graduation. A spokesperson says: “Senator Hagerty regrets to miss any vote, but he made a commitment to his son and his family to be with them on this important day.”

[2 June 2023 03:15 · Eric Garcia]

Loser: Student debtors

When Republicans initially passed the Limit, Save and Grow Act in April, it rolled back the Biden administration’s student loan cancellation. That ultimately did not end up in the final bill. But Republicans did get the White House to agree to end the current pause on student loan payments that the Trump administration put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic. Student debtors will begin paying their loans at the end of August.

[2 June 2023 03:47 · Oliver O'Connell]

Final vote to increase debt limit underway

The Senate vote to increase the debt limit is underway, with 60 votes needed.

All 11 amendments proposed by senators were rejected in a marathon voting session this evening.

[2 June 2023 03:55 · Oliver O'Connell]

Senate passes bill to increase debt ceiling 63-36

[2 June 2023 04:00 · Oliver O'Connell]

Full story: Senate passes debt limit bill after marathon 11 amendment votes to avoid default

The Senate voted late on Thursday night to raise the debt limit and avoid allowing the United States to default on its debt for the first time in history after having an all-night marathon session of votes to assuage Republican concerns.

The legislation passed 63 to 36 after senators held 11 votes on amendments —10 from Republicans and 1 from Democrats — to address concerns about the bill.

Eric Garcia reports for The Independent from Capitol Hill.

[2 June 2023 05:00 · Eric Garcia]

Winner and Loser: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy

The debt limit standoff was the California Republican’s first big test after a marathon 15 votes to earn the gavel in January. On one end, he moved the White House from its initial position of wanting a clean debt limit increase. He did so through an aggressive media and messaging strategy, often speaking to reporters both at the White House and again when he returned to the Hill. He put in place work requirements that Republicans have long wanted and dispatched two of his top negotiators. A majority of House Republicans also ultimately voted for the increase, meaning he did not break an internal House GOP rule.

But many conservatives rattled their sabres once negotiators announced they had reached a deal, such as the House Freedom Caucus, which includes many Republicans who had switched their votes in January after he made a series of side deals, many of them pertaining to the debt limit. And ultimately, 71 Republicans voted against the legislation, including some of his allies and more than just the rabble-rousers in the Freedom Caucus. He could face an internal rebellion in the coming months.

[2 June 2023 06:00 · Eric Garcia]

Winner and Loser: President Joe Biden

The president had some wins and some losses. Right out the gate ahead of his State of the Union Address, he got Mr McCarthy and House Republicans to take cuts to Social Security and Medicare off the table. His student loan forgiveness program remains intact and only a small amount of money allocated to the Internal Revenue Service in the Inflation Reduction Act will be cut in the final bill. Many of the other climate aspects in the bill remain in place as well.

At the same time, Mr Biden wanted a clean debt limit increase, which he didn’t get and had to negotiate with the House. He also failed to make the case to the American public about the need for the United States to fulfill its debt obligations and the risks of defaulting on its debt.

[2 June 2023 07:00 · Gustaf Kilander]

Democrat who almost beat Lauren Boebert in 2022 blasts her for not voting on debt deal

[2 June 2023 08:00 · AP]

Senate passes GOP bill overturning student loan cancellation, teeing it up for Biden veto

A Republican measure overturning President Joe Biden‘s student loan cancellation plan passed the Senate on Thursday and now awaits an expected veto.

The vote was 52-46, with support from Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana as well as Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent. The resolution was approved last week by the GOP-controlled House by a 218-203 vote.

Biden has pledged to keep in place his commitment to cancel up to $20,000 in federal student loans for 43 million people. The legislation adds to Republican criticism of the plan, which was halted in November in response to lawsuits from conservative opponents.

The Supreme Court heard arguments in February in a challenge to Biden’s move, with the conservative majority seemingly ready to sink the plan. A decision is expected in the coming weeks.

[2 June 2023 09:00 · Eric Garcia]

The debt limit vote signals the beginning of the end for Kevin McCarthy

If House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has one defining trait, it’s his eagerness to please. He has used this acumen to compensate for his lack of policy wonkery and other skills associated with being an effective congressional leader.

When he led Republicans in California’s state legislature, he earned a reputation as someone who would keep his word with Democrats when the legislature needed to get a bill across the finish line.

When he came to Washington, one aide said he was “like your favorite fraternity brother” for his affability. And despite his dislike of Democrats’ investigation into the riot on January 6, last year, I overheard him talking with select committee member and then-Democratic congresswoman Stephanie Murphy about what type of dog to get for her family. He has cultivated relationships with California’s elite, befriending Elon Musk long before the Tesla executive shifted rightward, and serving as inspiration for Kevin Spacey’s character of Frank Underwood in House of Cards.