House approves the Biden-McCarthy debt ceiling bill as default deadline looms
NPRHouse approves the Biden-McCarthy debt ceiling bill as default deadline looms Enlarge this image toggle caption Drew Angerer/Getty Images Drew Angerer/Getty Images House lawmakers have passed a piece of compromise legislation brokered between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to avoid an unprecedented debt default with just days to spare. But sitting with one House, with a Democratic Senate and a Democratic president who didn't want to meet with us, I think we did pretty dang good for the American public," McCarthy said during a press conference following the vote, referencing his frequent complaint that Biden wouldn't meet with him again after a February meeting until House Republicans passed a debt ceiling bill of their own. Enlarge this image toggle caption Drew Angerer/Getty Images Drew Angerer/Getty Images There were expected defections on both sides of the aisle A bloc of conservative members expressed their alarm at some of the provisions in the bill, and argued McCarthy didn't align the bill close enough to a version the House passed in April. Kuster added that Biden himself played an active role in reaching out to members to boost support for the bill in the days before the vote, saying he was "very involved."