Vote is In on Debt Ceiling Deal

The House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act Wednesday night by a 314-117 vote.

McCarthy was saved by Democrats to pass the bill.

More Democrats than Republicans voted in favor of the legislation.

More Democrats than Republicans voted for the McCarthy-Biden debt ceiling bill.

Tells you everything you need to know. pic.twitter.com/fEvJe0KKjN

— TEAM USA (@__TEAM_USA) June 1, 2023

314-117: The House passes the Biden-McCarthy debt ceiling agreement, raising the debt limit until 2025 and instituting discretionary spending caps for two years.

71 Republicans and 46 Democrats voted “no” on the bill. pic.twitter.com/RdU42whDd5

— The Recount (@therecount) June 1, 2023

The White House issued this statement on the passage of the debt ceiling deal:

AP reported:

McCarthy insisted his party was working to “give America hope” as he launched into a late evening speech extolling the bill’s budget cuts, which he said were needed to curb Washington’s “runaway spending.”

But amid discontent from Republicans who said the spending restrictions did not go far enough, McCarthy said it is only a “first step.”

Earlier, Biden expressed optimism that the agreement he negotiated with McCarthy to lift the nation’s borrowing limit would pass the chamber and avoid an economically disastrous default on America’s debts.

CBS News added:

In a press conference after the vote, McCarthy thanked Republican negotiators and the Republican conference for reaching this moment.

“I’ve been thinking about this day before my vote for speaker because I knew the debt ceiling was coming,” McCarthy told reporters. “I wanted to make history. I wanted to do something no other Congress has done, that we would literally turn the ship and for the first time in quite some time, we’d spend less than we spent the year before. Tonight, we all made history.”

Earlier Wednesday, a rule to move the bill forward briefly appeared in danger of failing, with nearly 30 Republicans voting against it. More than 50 Democrats ended up supporting the rule, clearing the way for a vote on final passage later in the evening. Ahead of the final vote, Republican and Democratic members urged the bill’s passage, while recognizing they didn’t get everything they wanted.

With many Republicans opposed to the deal, the question arises if any House GOP members will push for a motion to vacate the chair.

Joe Biden, Kevin McCarthy Reach ‘Agreement In Principle’ on Debt Ceiling

In the meantime, the bill moves to the Senate just a few days before the default deadline.

“The Senate could still stop the Biden-McCarthy deal. Even if all 51 Democrats were to vote for it, it would still fail if at least 41 Senate Republicans were to oppose cloture,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) said.

The Senate could still stop the Biden-McCarthy deal. Even if all 51 Democrats were to vote for it, it would still fail if at least 41 Senate Republicans were to oppose cloture (i.e., bringing debate to a close).https://t.co/u2T2j36Mmx

— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) June 1, 2023

CNBC reported:

That drama now moves to the Democratic-controlled Senate, where leaders on both sides want to pass it in 48 hours. Late Wednesday night, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., stood up in a nearly empty Senate chamber to formally place the bill on the calendar for Thursday.

“There’s been a very good vote in the House. I hope we can move the bill quickly here in the Senate and bring it to the president’s desk as soon as possible,” Schumer said.