President Joe Biden is expected to sign into law a bill that increases the debt ceiling and puts off the possibility of default until December.
The bill passed the Senate by a 50-48 party-line vote. It was brought to a vote after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, feeling the heat of Democratic political pressure, made a one-time agreement to back down from his staunch opposition to a debt limit increase.
According to Reuters, McConnell subsequently wrote a letter to President Biden saying he will “not be a party to any future effort to mitigate the consequences of Democratic mismanagement.” But nevertheless, McConnell’s backing down prompted swift criticism from former President Donald Trump.
“To think we had 11 Republicans go along with an extension. Headed up by Mitch McConnell, can you believe that?” Trump said at an Iowa rally Saturday. “And you know what it does? It gives the Democrats more time, two months, gives them more time to figure it out. They can now have two more months to figure it out how to screw us, OK.”
After passing the Senate last week, the bill was then sent to the House of Representatives, which passed it in a 219-206 party-line vote Tuesday night. The bill now heads to the White House to await Biden’s signature, though it only represents a temporary reprieve from debt default. Congress will need to agree on a longer-term solution by early December to avoid the default.
Rep. Jim Hagedorn of Minnesota, who voted against the bill, penned a Tuesday statement following its passage.
“Let’s face it — Congress had to vote to raise the national debt ceiling because of Democrats’ runaway spending and failure to do their job. Raising the debt ceiling paves the way for President Biden and the Democrats’ $5.5 trillion boondoggle, which is simply a wish list for their extreme socialist pet projects,” he said.
“I voted against the increase because we cannot mortgage our children’s future this way. Passing far-left policies will only continue to fuel inflation, kill high-wage jobs, force more government dependency, and jeopardize our country’s fiscal future.”
Although congressional Republicans have attacked the increase as an attempt to lay the groundwork for massive Democratic spending on social programs and “Building Back Better,” congressional Democrats have criticized the GOP reaction as hypocritical, citing the levels of Trump administration spending they previously supported.
Evan Stambaugh
Evan Stambaugh is a freelance writer who had previously been a sports blogger. He has a BA in theology and an MA in philosophy.
