United States: the threat of default averted in extremis

Late Thursday evening, Thursday, June 1, the Senate passed the bill raising the debt ceiling, already approved in the House of Representatives. This text, the result of long negotiations between President Joe Biden and the Republican camp, will allow Washington to honor its payments until early 2025.

The U.S. Capitol, where Congress (the House of Representatives and the Senate) sits in Washington. AP - J. Scott Applewhite

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The U.S. Senate vote ends a race against time, as the U.S. Treasury Department warned that the federal government may no longer be able to make payments as of June 5.

Pleased that, under @POTUS leadership, Congress has passed bipartisan legislation to suspend the debt limit. This protects the full faith and credit of the U.S. and preserves our financial leadership, which is critical to economic growth and stability. https://t.co/hfvsbh5z1C

— Secretary Janet Yellen (@SecYellen) June 2, 2023 It is now up to Joe Biden to sign the bill into law. The Democratic president thanked the Democratic and Republican leaders of Congress for having quickly adopted the bipartisan agreement, the result of weeks of negotiations between the tenant of the White House and the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy.

In a statement, Joe Biden hailed this "great victory for the American economy" and indicated that he intended to address the Nation on Friday.

The Senate, where Joe Biden's Democratic peers have a narrow majority, approved the bill by a vote of 63 to 36.

Essentially, the agreement provides for the suspension of the US debt ceiling until January 1, 2025, after the presidential election in November 2024. It also sets a limit on public spending next year and in 2025.

>> READ ALSO: In the United States, the agreement on the debt ceiling passes a key step in the House of Representatives

(with agencies)

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• United States
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