House Approves Debt Ceiling Deal; Now Goes To Senate

June 1, 2023 5:00 am

WASHINGTON (AP) — After sailing through the House on a bipartisan vote, the debt ceiling and budget cuts package now goes to the Senate. President Joe Biden negotiated the deal with Speaker Kevin McCarthy to avert a U.S. default crisis. They worked to assemble a coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans to push it to approval. A similar bipartisan effort will be needed in the Senate to overcome opposition. The U.S. was facing a potentially disastrous default in less than a week if Congress failed to act. Despite deep disappointment from hard-right Republicans that budget cuts don’t go far enough, it was approved on a bipartisan House vote with Democrats. The Senate is expected to act quickly by the end of the week.