Senate Clears Last Major Hurdle to Raising Debt Ceiling
The New York Times
Fourteen Republicans joined Democrats in voting to take up legislation that would pave the way for Congress to raise the debt ceiling by a simple majority vote, skirting a filibuster.
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday cleared away the last major hurdle to raising the debt ceiling, effectively ending a Republican blockade and all but guaranteeing that Congress will be able to move quickly in the coming days to steer the government away from a first-ever federal default.
In a vote of 64-36, 14 Republicans joined every Democrat to take up legislation that would smooth and speed the way for Congress to increase the statutory borrowing limit by a set amount, still to be determined. The action broke through months of politically charged wrangling in the 50-50 Senate, where Republicans refused to let Democrats take up any long-term debt ceiling increase, using the filibuster to block their efforts to do so.
The stalemate ended this week, when Senator Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican and minority leader, cut a deal with leading Democrats on a convoluted process that would allow the borrowing cap to be raised on a simple majority vote, with only Democrats supporting it, rather than subjecting it to the 60-vote threshold that applies to most major legislation.
Bored troops are standing watch, shelters have emptied from McAllen, Texas, to Tucson, Ariz., and border patrols speed through miles of frontier, finding no one in sight.
Spending that the White House does not like is being labeled fraudulent. At the same time, President Trump is rolling back anticorruption efforts and ethical standards for himself and allies like Elon Musk.
The remains of Edwin Echevarria, 65, were found floating in the East River on Feb. 5. His roommate, Christian Millet, 23, has been charged with second degree murder.
Even as they praise the president’s unilateral actions to slash federal spending, G.O.P. lawmakers have quietly moved to seek carve outs or exemptions for their own constituents.
The mayor discussed options to run for re-election in the Republican contest as recently as Monday. Asked for comment, he said he was running as a Democrat.
A lawsuit appears to be the first challenge to the constitutionality of an executive order barring trans athletes from girls’ and women’s sports teams.
The comptroller’s office, which first noticed the missing money, said that the federal agency had unilaterally taken the funds from the city’s accounts.
The executive order would ban citizenship for children born in the United States to foreign workers on visas that often lead to permanent residency.
The Trump administration’s order to drop the charges against Mayor Eric Adams was the most pronounced example of the president using his power to determine the city’s future.
President Trump had already pardoned his adviser in a similar federal case, which accused him of skimming money from donations to build a southern border barrier.
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act makes it illegal for companies that operate in the United States to pay foreign government officials to secure or keep business deals.
Representative Dan Goldman’s support may help Mr. Myrie, a state senator from Brooklyn, to emerge from a pack of progressive Democrats.
The new tone of the department, current and former officials say, appears to promise a campaign of intimidation against career employees viewed as insufficiently loyal.