Republicans in the US Senate voted to block legislation that would raise the debt ceiling to avoid an impending government shutdown and fund the work of the government.
The motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed with the consideration of the legislation, which requires 60 votes to pass, failed in a vote of 50-48.
The motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed with the consideration of the legislation, which requires 60 votes to pass, failed in a vote of 50-48.
"We will support a clean continuing resolution that will prevent a government shutdown. We will not provide Republican votes for raising the debt limit."
Last week, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed to overcome political opposition and pass a temporary funding bill to raise the country’s debt limit in order to keep the government running.
A group of six former US Treasury secretaries urged in a letter to Pelosi to not let a politically divided Congress be the reason for the world’s largest economy to default on its fiscal commitments.
The Pentagon earlier expressed hope that Congress would prevent a shutdown of the government, after the White House directed federal agencies to begin preparing for a potential shutdown, which would be the first since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.