MTS Help Center

Biden: 'Real possibility' Democrats might change Senate rules for debt hike

President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that his Democrats might make an exception to a U.S. Senate rule to allow them to extend the government's borrowing authority without Republican help, which could head off an economically crippling debt default.

As a stalemate between Republicans and Democrats showed no sign of abating, Biden said there was a "real possibility" that his party would bypass the long-standing supermajority voting requirement known as the filibuster for dealing with the debt limit.

That would allow Democrats, who hold a razor-thin Senate majority, to suspend the federal government's $28.4 trillion borrowing cap without Republican votes.

Asked if Democrats would remove the filibuster solely to raise the debt limit, Biden said: "Oh I think that's a real possibility."

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday said it was "utterly essential" for Congress to lift the federal debt limit ahead of an Oct. 18 deadline to avoid U.S. default, but added that she opposes using a loophole in U.S. currency law to resolve the crisis.

Many Democrats have argued that the Senate should dump the filibuster entirely, saying it prevents progress on climate change, voting rights and other priorities.

Reference: Reuters