Bill to Avert Shutdown, Suspend Debt Ceiling Blocked By Senate Republicans

Senate Republicans on Monday voted against a motion to begin debate on a Democrat-proposed stopgap bill to avert a government shutdown and suspend the debt ceiling. The motion, which needed 60 votes to avoid a Republican filibuster, failed in a 48-50 party line vote. If Congress fails to raise or suspend the debt ceiling by mid-October, the U.S. government could default on its debts for the first time in history. Republicans stuck by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s pledge to withhold Republican support for any Democrat bill that extended the debt ceiling. McConnell argued that raising the debt ceiling would allow Democrats to spend more under their current budget reconciliation plan. Democrats refused to include a debt limit suspension in their budget reconciliation bill, which Republicans cannot filibuster. Much of the debt the government could end up defaulting on was undertaken by Republicans during the Trump presidency; the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) expects the national debt to rise by $3 trillion in 2021.

Coverage in most left- and center-rated outlets framed the issue as a choice by Senate Republicans. Coverage was relatively sparse in right-rated outlets on Monday and tended to focus on Democrats’ criticism of Republicans.