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1 Senate Passes Debt Ceiling Bill, President Biden’s Signature Will Avoid Default
The Senate worked late into the night last night, ending their marathon workday with a 63-36 vote passing the Fiscal Responsibility Act, leaving only President Joe Biden’s signature to avoid a default on the nation’s debt. Biden issued a statement shortly after the vote, saying “I look forward to signing this bill into law as soon as possible.” The President is scheduled to address the nation today on the passage of the bill. There were numerous opponents to the bill, and Senators tried to get 11 amendments to the legislation passed in the Senate, with all of them being voted down. If even one had passed, the bill would have had to go back to the House for another vote. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said after the vote that “America can breathe a sigh of relief,” while Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the bill was “an urgent and important step in the right direction.” Once signed into law, the bill will cap spending for the next two years but will suspend the debt ceiling until 2025, after the presidential election. The Treasury Department has set Monday as the deadline for action on the debt ceiling to avoid defaulting on the nation’s debts, something that will now be avoided.
2 GOP Bill Overturning Student Loan Cancellation Passes Senate On 52-46 Vote
Part of the Senate’s busy day yesterday included a vote to overturn President Joe Biden’s student loan cancellation plan with a 52-46 vote. Democratic Senators Joe Manchin, Jon Tester, and Independent Kyrsten Sinema all voted to overturn the plan, but the vote isn’t expected to stop the plan going into effect. President Biden is expected to veto the legislation passed yesterday, but that’s not the only challenge the plan faces. The Supreme Court heard arguments in February in a challenge to the plan, and at the time the conservative majority on the court seemed in favor of ruling against the idea. A final decision from the justices is expected in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, student loan repayments will restart August 30th. Payments have been put on pause since the pandemic, but the Debt Ceiling Bill included language to let the payments resume.
3 President Biden Trips And Falls On Stage During Air Force Academy Commencement
President Joe Biden took a fall onstage at the commencement ceremony at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs yesterday, falling to the stage before being helped to his feet by three people. He appeared to not be injured from the tumble and took a seat behind the lectern after he regained his footing, then left the stage after the ceremony finished. The White House later confirmed that the President was fine. Speaking to a group of supporters in Grimes, Iowa, former President Donald Trump was told of Biden’s fall and said “I hope he wasn’t hurt” before going on to poke fun at a comment Biden made during the 2020 campaign when he made fun of the way Trump gingerly walked down a ramp, telling the crowd “You don’t want that. Even if you have to tiptoe down a ramp, you don’t want that.”