Not enough Senate Republicans are willing to join with Democrats to increase the debt ceiling, according to congressional reporters. Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the whip for the Senate GOP, said Thursday that he believes that his party does not have enough votes yet to overcome a filibuster of the debt ceiling bill.
Ten Republicans need to join with the 50 Senate Democrats to end the filibuster.
Thune says Rs do not have 10 votes to break their party\u2019s filibuster. He said they\u2019ll get there but it will be a \u201cpainful birthing process\u201d— Jake Sherman (@Jake Sherman) 1633631599
Wow: GOP Sen. John Thune, the party's chief vote counter, says they don't have 10 votes to help D's break the filibuster.\n\nWarns it'll be a "painful birthing process" but expresses confidence R's will eventually lend enough votes (interesting choice of words)— Joseph Zeballos-Roig (@Joseph Zeballos-Roig) 1633631854
Lot of hand-wringing among Senate Rs about short-term debt ceiling vote. After weeks of saying Ds need to do it on their own, now 10 are being asked to break a filibuster. Most expect them to get to 60 but few want to vote YES. Rounds says \u201cit\u2019s entirely possible\u201d GOP meets again— Manu Raju (@Manu Raju) 1633630617
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told Democrats on Wednesday, via press release, that they could choose one, increase the debt ceiling or pass the Build Back Better plan, but he wouldn't allow both to move through the Senate. To ensure the U.S. didn't default on its loans and crash the economy, Democrats opted for the debt ceiling.
The news doesn't appear to have yet reached President Joe Biden, who was asked by reporters how he feels about the negotiations. He flashed crossed fingers to the press as he got into the motorcade.
CNN's @JDiamond1 asked President Biden, arriving in Chicago for an event touting vaccine requirements, if he'll sign a short term extension of the debt limit-- POTUS crosses his fingers, telling Jeremy they still need to get the deal done, adding "we're not sure of that yet." https://twitter.com/DJJudd/status/1446180560649474050\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/JuKlc9jLzv— DJ Judd (@DJ Judd) 1633631480
