Biden calls reducing filibuster to raise debt limit ‘a real possibility’

WASHINGTON – President Biden said on Tuesday Democrats are considering changing Senate filibuster rules to bypass a Republican blockade on raising the debt limit, which has put the United States on a collision course with a government default.

“Oh, I think that’s a real possibility,” Biden said when asked if Democrats are considering the last resort route, which would involve making an exception to allow a bill to pass. Debt Ceiling Law with a simple majority instead of the usual 60 votes required.

Senate Democrats discussed removing the exception at their weekly lunch on Tuesday. No conclusions were drawn, but notably, according to participants, the two most ardent opponents of the filibuster changes, Senators Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, did not protest. They also did not express their support.

The move, once almost unimaginable in a room steeped in decorum, has been the subject of discussion as the Biden administration and Congressional Democrats explored ways to avoid a government default without the support of Republicans. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen has warned lawmakers of the “catastrophic” consequences, including a recession and financial crisis, if Congress does not act by October 18, when the government is expected to be unable to pay his bills.

On Wednesday, the Senate will vote on whether to pass legislation to raise the debt ceiling until December 2022. But with 10 Republican senators needed to join the Democrats, the vote is expected to fail.

Some Democrats have expressed hope that if tackling filibuster is the only way left, the party could muster 50 votes for rule change.

Lawmakers have created other exceptions to filibuster in recent years. In 2017, Senate Republicans created one to pave the way for Neil M. Gorsuch, President Donald J. Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee, to take the bench. And in 2013, Senate Democrats did so to overcome Republican opposition to President Barack Obama’s nominees for cabinet and judge positions.

Mr Biden’s remarks on Tuesday night, made as he returned to the White House after a trip to Michigan to sell a bipartisan infrastructure package and a sweeping welfare spending bill, reflected the approach of more in addition to the president’s confrontational attitude towards a divided chamber that has presented him with one obstacle after another as he tries to push through his domestic agenda.

“As of this week, your savings and your wallet could be directly affected by this Republican coup,” Biden said in a White House address Monday, warning that a failed vote on Wednesday could shake financial markets, sending stock prices. lower and higher interest rates. “A meteor is heading towards our economy,” he said.

The president also bristled at the ultimatum issued by Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, who said Democrats must resort to reconciliation – a more complicated process that could take a week or more to fall into place – if they want to defeat the Republicans. opposition to raising the debt ceiling.

“I respectfully submit that it is time for you to engage directly with Congressional Democrats on this issue,” McConnell wrote in a letter to Biden on Monday. “Your lieutenants in Congress need to understand that you don’t want your Unified Democratic government sleepwalking toward preventable disaster when they have been given nearly three months’ notice to do their jobs.”

Mr McConnell said the government should not be allowed to stop paying its debts; he also said he would not let any Republican vote to raise the debt ceiling, while preventing Democrats from doing it themselves. Republicans have already gathered to obstruct an earlier bill to raise the debt ceiling.

Once Republicans obstruct an increase in the debt ceiling again on Wednesday, Democrats will need to chart a course forward – and quickly.

On Tuesday evening, the White House announced an event to keep the pressure on: a meeting between Mr. Biden and a group of executives on Wednesday to “immediately address the debt ceiling and the damaging consequences for American families, small businesses and the community. economy if unnecessary delays are prolonged.

Jonathan weisman contributed reports.