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?

[3 June 2023 19:06 · Megan Sheets]

Biden signs debt limit bill

President Joe Biden has now signed the debt ceiling bill, averting a potentially catastrophic default.

The White House announced the signing, which was done in private at the White House, in an emailed statement in which Biden thanked congressional leaders for their partnership.