The $480 billion increase to the current $28.4 trillion debt limit is supposed to be exhausted by Dec. 3, the same day that funding for most federal programs further expires under a stop-gap measure passed earlier this month after another partisan standoff.
That says that over the next eight weeks, the bitterly divided Congress will have the twin challenges of finding a middle ground on agency spending through September 2022 -- varying from education and foreign aid programs to immigration enforcement and airport security -- and evading yet another debt limit meltdown.
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The vote came after a months-long standoff bringing the country close to the Oct. 18 date that the Treasury Department estimated it would no longer be able to meet its commitments.
"Republicans played a dangerous and risky partisan game and I am glad that their brinkmanship did not work," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced after the vote.
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"With America honoring its full faith and credit: Senate Democrats are continuing our work to Build Back Better, help people and families, fight climate change, create the good-paying jobs of tomorrow, and rekindle that optimism that has long been the core of America's identity," Schumer wrote on Twitter.
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Democrats declared victory after McConnell’s offer went public, with some stating he had "caved" to political pressure. Many GOP lawmakers blamed McConnell for giving up his leverage and surrendering to Democratic demands.
"This is a complete capitulation," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told Fox News' Jason Donner on Thursday. "The argument made yesterday was, well, this may be more pressure than two Democratic senators can stand regarding changing the filibuster rules. That, to me, is not a very good reason."
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Republicans blocked multiple attempts to raise the debt ceiling in recent days, with GOP leaders claiming that the Democrats should use the budget reconciliation process to suspend the borrowing limit without their advice. With progress stalled, some Democrats floated the possibility of changing filibuster rules in order to pass the debt limit extension, yet moderate Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced he would not back that effort.
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With the debt situation addressed, for now, Democrats further will resume unilateral attempts to negotiate a compromise between moderates and progressives on Biden's spending bill. The president has told House lawmakers that a spending threshold of approximately $1.9 trillion to $2.2 trillion was likely necessary to placate both sides.
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