Biden to sign debt limit bill after safe passage through Senate

Spencer Soicher, a reporter from Ms Boebert’s home state of Colorado, pointed out that she had made 23 Twitter posts in the past week voicing her displeasure with the compromise deal.

Democrat Adam Frisch, who in 2022 lost his bid to unseat Ms Boebert in Colorado’s third district by just 546 votes, wrote on Twitter: “How can you represent #CO03 when you don’t even show up? What was more important than voting?”

If House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has one defining trait, it’s his eagerness to please. He has used this acumen to compensate for his lack of policy wonkery and other skills associated with being an effective congressional leader.

When he led Republicans in California’s state legislature, he earned a reputation as someone who would keep his word with Democrats when the legislature needed to get a bill across the finish line.

When he came to Washington, one aide said he was “like your favorite fraternity brother” for his affability. And despite his dislike of Democrats’ investigation into the riot on January 6, last year, I overheard him talking with select committee member and then-Democratic congresswoman Stephanie Murphy about what type of dog to get for her family. He has cultivated relationships with California’s elite, befriending Elon Musk long before the Tesla executive shifted rightward, and serving as inspiration for Kevin Spacey’s character of Frank Underwood in House of Cards.

A Republican measure overturning President Joe Biden‘s student loan cancellation plan passed the Senate on Thursday and now awaits an expected veto.

The vote was 52-46, with support from Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana as well as Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent. The resolution was approved last week by the GOP-controlled House by a 218-203 vote.

Biden has pledged to keep in place his commitment to cancel up to $20,000 in federal student loans for 43 million people. The legislation adds to Republican criticism of the plan, which was halted in November in response to lawsuits from conservative opponents.

The Supreme Court heard arguments in February in a challenge to Biden’s move, with the conservative majority seemingly ready to sink the plan. A decision is expected in the coming weeks.

The president had some wins and some losses. Right out the gate ahead of his State of the Union Address, he got Mr McCarthy and House Republicans to take cuts to Social Security and Medicare off the table. His student loan forgiveness program remains intact and only a small amount of money allocated to the Internal Revenue Service in the Inflation Reduction Act will be cut in the final bill. Many of the other climate aspects in the bill remain in place as well.

At the same time, Mr Biden wanted a clean debt limit increase, which he didn’t get and had to negotiate with the House. He also failed to make the case to the American public about the need for the United States to fulfill its debt obligations and the risks of defaulting on its debt.

The debt limit standoff was the California Republican’s first big test after a marathon 15 votes to earn the gavel in January. On one end, he moved the White House from its initial position of wanting a clean debt limit increase. He did so through an aggressive media and messaging strategy, often speaking to reporters both at the White House and again when he returned to the Hill. He put in place work requirements that Republicans have long wanted and dispatched two of his top negotiators. A majority of House Republicans also ultimately voted for the increase, meaning he did not break an internal House GOP rule.

But many conservatives rattled their sabres once negotiators announced they had reached a deal, such as the House Freedom Caucus, which includes many Republicans who had switched their votes in January after he made a series of side deals, many of them pertaining to the debt limit. And ultimately, 71 Republicans voted against the legislation, including some of his allies and more than just the rabble-rousers in the Freedom Caucus. He could face an internal rebellion in the coming months.

The legislation passed 63 to 36 after senators held 11 votes on amendments —10 from Republicans and 1 from Democrats — to address concerns about the bill.

Eric Garcia reports for The Independent from Capitol Hill.

The Senate vote to increase the debt limit is underway, with 60 votes needed.

All 11 amendments proposed by senators were rejected in a marathon voting session this evening.

When Republicans initially passed the Limit, Save and Grow Act in April, it rolled back the Biden administration’s student loan cancellation. That ultimately did not end up in the final bill. But Republicans did get the White House to agree to end the current pause on student loan payments that the Trump administration put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic. Student debtors will begin paying their loans at the end of August.