The Democratic-run Senate is expected to vote as soon as Wednesday on legislation that would just avoid a partial government shutdown by keeping the federal government funded after Thursday, according to multiple published reports.
Republican senators have blocked a House-passed bill that would prevent a shutdown but also would raise the federal borrowing limit, putting pressure on Democrats to deliver a measure that only would address a shutdown.
Top House Democrats have been suggesting that exactly such a measure was in the works, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer saying Tuesday that his chamber’s leaders were “talking to the Senate about that.”
Read: Here’s what would happen if Washington doesn’t prevent a government shutdown
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican, has argued repeatedly that Democratic lawmakers ought to go it alone to lift the debt limit through a process known as budget reconciliation, similar to how they’re working to pass a $3.5 trillion spending plan without GOP votes. Democrats have maintained that the increase should happen through a standard process and draw bipartisan support, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat, saying it’s paying “the Trump credit card.”
Related: Congress must raise or suspend debt limit by Oct. 18, Yellen says
And see: What happens if the U.S. defaults on its debt?
Meanwhile, Pelosi and other top Democrats also are facing pressure from progressive colleagues who say they won’t support a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that has passed the Senate unless the party’s $3.5 trillion package moves ahead in tandem.
Read more: Here’s what’s in the bipartisan infrastructure bill that the House aims to pass — and how it’s paid for
U.S. stocks
DJIA,
+0.04%
looked on track for a rebound Wednesday, in the wake of the S&P 500’s
SPX,
+0.13%
biggest percentage drop in more than four months.
