The House passed legislation on Tuesday night to allow the Senate to bypass the legislative filibuster and more easily avert a potential default on the nation’s debt.
The House passed a bill, 222-212, that would allow Democrats to raise the debt ceiling with only a simple majority, or 50 votes if Vice President Kamala Harris were to break the tie.
The Senate must also pass the rule allowing for the Senate to bypass the legislative filibuster, which would normally require the Senate to pass a debt ceiling provision with 60-plus votes.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that he remains “confident” that his deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has enough votes to pass the rule. McConnell would need the backing of 10 Senate Republicans to pass the deal.
House Rules Chairman Jim McGovern (D-MD) said the rule would help avoid a government default. The government would likely default on December 15 if Congress fails to pass a bill to raise or suspend the debt ceiling.
“We’re sending them over a process that will allow them to move forward. Once they act, it’ll come over here, and we’ll have to act,” McGovern (pictured) said.
“There are bumps in the road, but I feel good,” he added.
Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-SD) claimed Democrats would be on the hook for increasing the debt limit.
Thune said:
It’s a staggering number, and a number which they’ve been trying to avoid. The Democrats are going to be on the hook for all the spending that they’ve advocated. And now they’re going to have to pay for it by raising the debt limit to accommodate all that spending. And that’s the point we’ve been making all along.
A Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) said in a statement, “Senator Daines is adamantly opposed to raising the debt ceiling and any and all avenues to do so.”
“I don’t think Republicans should be facilitating adding trillions in debt,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said.
Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.