Congressional Democrats passed a debt ceiling increase and sent it to President Joe Biden’s desk early Wednesday, the deadline that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned could mark the start of the first-ever U.S. default.
The president is expected to sign the borrowing limit hike just hours before the Treasury Department forecasts it would exhaust its tools to pay the government’s bills — an outcome that could upend the U.S. economy.
The Democratic-held Senate and House passed the debt ceiling increase with only one Republican vote. The Senate approved the measure in a 50-49 party-line vote late Tuesday afternoon. The House followed early Wednesday, passing it by a 221-209 margin as only one GOP representative joined every Democrat.
Once signed by Biden, the resolution would increase the debt ceiling by $2.5 trillion. On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the measure will raise the borrowing limit “to a level commensurate with funding necessary to get into 2023.”
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