The US Senate passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act, known colloquially as the "debt ceiling deal," late Thursday, effectively averting a potential government default that was expected in the coming week.
The highly-anticipated passage cleared the Senate chamber with a 63- 36 vote. Officials needed to meet the 60-vote threshold in order to ensure the deal cleared Congress and was sent to US President Joe Biden's desk.
US senators greenlighted the measure after all 11 proposed amendments from members of both parties failed to be adopted by the chamber.
One of the failed amendments included Sen. Tim Kaine's (D-VA) attempt to strip Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-WV) Mountain Valley Pipeline deal, a controversial project that pipes methane gas through West Virginia and Virginia. Despite the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruling that the project will violate the Clean Water Act, Congress has moved in with an iron fist.
After hearing that the deal he brokered with McCarthy had passed, Biden made a remark via Twitter.
"Just now, Senators from both parties voted to protect our hard-earned economic progress and prevent a first-ever default," Biden wrote. "No one gets everything they want in a negotiation, but make no mistake: this bipartisan agreement is a big win for our economy and the American people."
"Our work is far from finished, but I look forward to signing this bill into law as soon as possible and addressing the American people directly tomorrow."
The Thursday vote came just a day after the US House of Representatives cleared the deal late Wednesday with a 314-117 vote.
"America can breathe a sigh of relief, a sigh of relief, because in this process, we are avoiding default," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said before voting. "From the start, avoiding default has been our North Star."
"The deal the House passed last night is a promising step toward fiscal sanity," added Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell while on the Senate floor. "But make no mistake: there is much more work to be done. The fight to reel in wasteful spending is far from over."