The Senate voted to extend the U.S. debt limit as part of a $15.25 billion bill providing funds for Hurricane Harvey victims under a deal struck by President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders that roiled Republican lawmakers.
The 80-17 vote Thursday would suspend the debt limit and keep the government open through Dec. 8 and finance aid to flood victims in Texas and other parts of the Gulf coast. The measure now goes to the House for consideration, where even small-government Republicans in opposition predict it will pass because of the urgent need for storm funds.
Trump’s decision to accept the deal undercut GOP leaders in the House and Senate, as well as his own Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who had been arguing for a longer-term debt-limit extension. It also left Republicans blindsided, angry and disappointed with their own leaders and, to a lesser degree, Trump.
The episode provided the latest illustration of the bind Republicans find themselves in. Even though they control the White House and both chambers of Congress, they’ve been unable to set aside their own differences to get much done.
Republicans say Democrats likely will gain the upper hand in negotiations when the short-term agreements are due to expire in December as lawmakers race to complete their work to go on recess. The agenda is expected to include Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico, his decision to end a program that lets young undocumented immigrants stay in the U.S., and perhaps the debt limit.
Failed Amendments
Before the final vote on the bill, H.R. 601, the Senate rejected amendments by Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky that would have required foreign aid cuts to offset the disaster assistance and by Republican Ben Sasse of Nebraska that would have dropped the debt-limit extension and stopgap spending from the disaster measure.
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