Senate averts default, sends debt bill to Biden’s desk

The Senate passed the bipartisan debt deal Thursday night, sending it to President Joe Biden’s desk days before the default deadline and capping off months of melodrama.

The upper chamber saw some last-minute twists of its own, after defense hawks demanded a written statement from Senate leaders committing not to block supplemental defense funding and consideration of appropriations bills. Other senators demanded what became a total of 11 amendment votes — all of which failed — resulting in more than three hours of floor time before the chamber could move to final passage.

Still, the upper chamber managed to pass the legislation 63-36, about 24 hours after the House cleared the bill 314-117, a decent showing of bipartisan support in both chambers. Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) was the only senator who missed the late Thursday night vote, which he said was due to his son’s graduation ceremony.

Before the House vote, Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the White House had spent weeks negotiating the bill that raised the debt ceiling through 2024 and cut spending, which Republicans had demanded as a condition for increasing the nation’s borrowing limit.

Senate leaders largely stayed out of the discussions, allowing McCarthy to take the lead for Republicans in talks with the White House.