Schumer says Senate will go on recess next week despite debt limit dispute
Emily Jacobs
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Thursday that the Senate will move forward with its planned May recess, ending days of speculation amid unfinished negotiations between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and President Joe Biden to avert a debt default.
Schumer’s announcement comes as senators were vocally uncertain if the debt ceiling dispute would prevent them from returning home for a planned recess. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the U.S. will be unable to pay its bills by June 1, while the Senate recess ends May 30. Two days would be nowhere near enough time for the chamber to vote on a negotiated deal, especially given the Senate’s current 51-49 split, allowing every member the opportunity to act as a protest vote.
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“The negotiations are currently making progress. As Speaker McCarthy has said, he expects the House will vote next week if an agreement is reached and the Senate would begin consideration after that,” Schumer said Thursday on the Senate floor. “Members should remain aware and be able to return to the Senate within a 24-hour period to fulfill our responsibilities to avoid default.”
Biden and McCarthy’s respective teams are leading negotiations, leaving the Senate largely on the sidelines. Still, members, senior staff, and even reporters wondered in recent days if the debt limit talks could keep senators from going home after Thursday evening votes.
A group of 14 House Republicans sent a letter to Schumer on Monday urging him to keep the Senate in session rather than go through with the recess while a deal on the debt limit is still not done.
The debt ceiling, or the top amount the federal government can borrow, will either need to be raised or abolished sometime next month to avert a default. Economists have long warned that such a default would wreak havoc on the economy.
McCarthy was able to hold enough of the House Republican Conference together to pass his debt ceiling budget proposal late last month. President Joe Biden, backed up by Senate Democrats, stood firm in his refusal to negotiate over the debt limit for months.
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The White House has decried the bill as an attempt at political “hostage-taking” and vowed that Biden would veto it if it reached his desk, though the likelihood of such legislation passing the Democratically-controlled Senate is slim.
Negotiations picked up in recent weeks as the deadline approached, though no deal has been reached. Asked on Sunday about the Biden team’s most recent conversations with congressional Republicans, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said talks had been “constructive between all of the parties. I know the president looks forward to getting together with the leaders to talk about how we continue to make progress.”