Debt Ceiling Plan Passes Senate, Will Find More Resistance in the House

One day after President Donald Trump shocked Washington by endorsing a Democratic debt ceiling plan that would fund the government for three months and provide money for hurricane relief, the Senate passed the plan by an 80-17 vote.

All who voted against the plan were Republicans, including Bob Corker, Jeff Flake, Lindsey Graham, Chuck Grassley, Mike Lee, Rand Paul, Ben Sasse, and John McCain. Republican leadership, despite their unhappiness with the deal, voted to pass it.

The bill is likely to pass the House of Representatives as well, but it will face fiercer opposition there. The leaders of the 172-member strong Republican Study Committee sent a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan denouncing the bill as an irresponsible dodge.

“While some have advocated for a ‘clean’ debt limit increase, this would simply increase the borrowing authority of the government while irresponsibly ignoring the urgency of reforms,” RSC chairman Mark Walker wrote. “Worse yet is attaching the debt limit to legislation that continues the status quo or even worsens the trajectory on spending, such as the deal announced yesterday by the President and Congressional Leadership.”Walker also warned that the package might not find the support it needs to pass the House. “The most recent ‘clean’ debt limit vote on February 11, 2014, earned the support of only 28 House Republicans, while the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 only received 79 Republican votes,” the letter reads.