The Senate will stay in session until it passes a bill to lift the government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, Democrats Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Thursday.
The chamber has just four days to pass the measure - which would suspend the debt limit through Jan. 1, 2025, and send it to President Joe Biden to sign, averting a catastrophic default.
We will keep working until the job is done, Mr. Schumer said.
The minority leader and Biden and his Republican counterpart Minority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed to do all they could to speed along the bill negotiated by Biden and his Republican counterpart, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which would suspend the debt limit, essentially temporarily removing it, in exchange for a cap on spending.
It remains to be seen whether any members of their respective caucuses, especially hardline Republicans angry the bill did not include deeper spending cuts, would use the Senate's arcane rules to try to slow down its passage.
Some members were pushing Schumer to allow some votes on amendments to the bill to pass more quickly, in exchange for allowing the overall package to pass more quickly. The Senate is a common maneuver in the Senate but one that is not without risk, as if any of the amendments were to succeed, the bill would have to go back to the House.
There is little time for that, as the Treasury Department said it would be unable to pay all its bills on June 5 if Congress fails to act.