US Democrats signalled they would take up Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell’s offer to raise the US debt ceiling into December, alleviating the immediate risk of a default but raising the prospect of another bruising political fight near the end of the year.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer didn’t respond publicly, but Democrats leaving a meeting with him Wednesday said they were ready to push through a short-term increase in the debt limit. Still, they said they will continue to oppose using a process called reconciliation to pass a longer-term increase in the limit with only Democratic votes, which McConnell has demanded.
The Senate meantime Wednesday afternoon delayed an attempt to advance legislation to suspend the debt limit, which Republicans were poised to block.
