Congress has gained a few days of respite: the country's coffers should not run dry until June 5, not the 1st, according to a refined estimate given Friday by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

The agreement reached between Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican leader in the House, Kevin McCarthy, has yet to be validated by elected officials, some of whom have already shown clear opposition.

Otherwise, the United States risks an unprecedented default, with potentially catastrophic repercussions for the economy.

The House Rules Committee on Tuesday gave a first indication of the coming trend by approving the bill, by a vote of seven to six, with two Republicans and four Democrats voting against it.

It is now up to the elected members of the House, with a Republican majority, to decide. A vote is scheduled for Wednesday in plenary session before the Senate, with a Democratic majority, does so in turn.

On Tuesday, Joe Biden "firmly" invited elected officials to adopt this legislation, the result of the compromise he himself negotiated.

"Let's move forward on our obligations and build the most powerful economy in human history," he added on Twitter.

Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy at Congress in Washington, May 30, 2023 © Mandel NGAN / AFP

The hardest part is still to be done for Kevin McCarthy: convince his Republican majority to validate the new law, so as not to appear dependent on elected Democrats.

The task could prove more difficult than expected as opposition within the Republican Party appears to be outpacing former President Donald Trump's support in the House.

'Bad deal'

South Carolina Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace said Tuesday on Twitter that she would not vote in favor of the compromise.

"This +agreement+ formalizes the record level of federal spending during the pandemic and makes it the baseline for future spending," she said.

On the side of the Trumpist wing of the party, Texas Congressman Chip Roy castigated a "bad deal", for which "no Republican should vote".

"We will continue to fight today and tomorrow, no matter what happens," he said.

US President Joe Biden in New Castle, Delaware, on May 30, 2023 © Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP

Some elected officials on the right wing of the Republicans are even considering a motion of no confidence to force Kevin McCarthy to leave the leadership. The proposal may be submitted by a single elected representative.

On the Democratic side, some elected officials also display their skepticism, like Ro Khanna, elected from California. According to him, many representatives of his party, opposed to the budget cuts, "do not yet know" what their vote will be.

The bill suspends the debt ceiling until 2025, after the presidential elections at the end of 2024.

In exchange, some spending will be limited in order to keep it stable, excluding military spending, in 2024 and up 1%, excluding inflation, in 2025.

It also provides for a $10 billion cut in funding for tax services to modernize and strengthen controls.

McCarthy's office said the deal provides for the recovery of "billions of dollars of unspent Covid funds" during the pandemic, but gave no further details.

A major point of contention, the compromise includes changes to the conditions imposed for receiving certain social benefits: it increases from 49 to 54 the age up to which adults without children must work to receive food assistance, but it eliminates this obligation to work for veterans and the homeless.

© 2023 AFP