The US Senate is gearing up to vote on legislation to stave off a historic default on the country’s debt, as lawmakers from the upper chamber of Congress raced to approve a bipartisan fiscal pact as early as Thursday night.
The push in the upper chamber of Congress, which is controlled by Democrats, came one day after the Republican-led House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation lifting the US’s borrowing limit and setting caps on new government spending.
The bill approved by the House and being considered in the Senate reflects an agreement negotiated by President Joe Biden and Republican House speaker Kevin McCarthy in the past two weeks. If a deal were not reached, the US risks running out of money to pay its bills on June 5.