<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Approval in the House is a huge step forward - but it is not the end of this process.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The bipartisan debt ceiling agreement is now headed to the 100-member Senate.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unlike the House, the Senate is controlled by Democrats, albeit by a one-seat majority.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One conservative Republican, Mike Lee of Utah, has threatened to use "every procedural tool" to slow consideration of the bill.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lee and other recalcitrant Republicans may be mollified if Senate leadership allows the chamber to vote on changes to the deal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said he would like to fast-track this bill without allowing amendments - which, if passed, would require it being sent back to the House once again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Add to that the fact we could see other defections, including from left-wing Senator Bernie Sanders, who said today he cannot "in good conscience" support the measure.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Monday is the day the US government will hit its borrowing limit - and Senate leadership will be hoping they can get this bill over the line by Friday for President Joe Biden to sign into law at the weekend.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you needed any proof the debt ceiling has turned into a political theatre, just listen to the remarks by certain Republicans before the vote.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They took a huge victory lap in the chamber with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy claiming the deal he negotiated with the president is the largest savings ever in American history. It isn’t.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And he blamed Biden for not joining the negotiating table earlier.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For McCarthy, this is about saving face. The Republican's political reputation and role as House Speaker is on the line.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Remember, it took him 15 rounds of voting to even get the job back in January.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If McCarthy had taken the podium today and said that Democrats got what they wanted out of the deal, it would have made it near impossible for him to sell it to many Republicans.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He needed to show that he can get the deal done but also satisfy the demands of the more ultra-conservative Republican members of the House.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In his speech on the House floor a few minutes ago, Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy took a dig at President Joe Biden for not coming to the table earlier to negotiate on the debt ceiling bill.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In April, congressional Republicans put forward a bill that raised the debt ceiling in exchange for significant spending cuts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That proposal was pared down in negotiations with the Democratic administration in the White House, but McCarthy still claims victory on several fronts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He touted the bill's successes for Republicans in his speech - from "structural reforms" to clawing back unspent pandemic funds.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He also signalled that he is confident the bill has the votes it needs to pass tonight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I'm an optimist," he said. "I watched division in this House, but tonight we might come together and do something very big for this country."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Don't mistake this as the solution. It's the beginning." BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>