US debt ceiling deal: House passes bill over hard-right Republican opposition, Senate next to vote
- By margin of 314 to 117, agreement between Joe Biden and Kevin McCarthy wins bipartisan support, clearing path to avert unprecedented default
- Bill passes in the US House of Representatives just days before the June 5 ‘X date’, advancing to the Senate for another vote
The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill to suspend the country’s debt ceiling and set federal spending limits, putting it on course to avert a looming sovereign default that was days away.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy managed to tamp down strident opposition to the bill from hard-right Republicans who were unable to prevent it from coming to the chamber’s floor, where it passed 314 to 117, with 71 members of the speaker’s party voting against it.
“Tonight, we all made history because this is the biggest cut and savings this Congress has ever voted for,” McCarthy told reporters, thanking fellow Republicans for providing the required support.
US President Joe Biden welcomed the bill’s passage and urged the Senate to “pass it as quickly as possible” so that he can sign it into law.
“This agreement is good news for the American people and the American economy,” he said in a statement released by the White House.
