Joe Biden can – for now – breathe. US senators on Thursday approved a temporary budget which was subsequently adopted by the House. The American President was therefore able to promulgate it before midnight, thus avoiding the paralysis of the services of the Federal State. In the event of a delay, hundreds of thousands of federal employees would have found themselves technically unemployed, with the closure of ministries, national parks and museums.
The text, which provides for an extension of the budget until December 3, was approved in the Senate (65-35) with the support of 15 Republicans. Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer welcomed this rare moment of union as there is “so much to settle here”. The House voted by 254 votes against 175.
The hardest part is yet to come
The United States faces the risk of defaulting by mid-October if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling. This is usually a routine vote, but it comes this year in the midst of a showdown to pass two gigantic investment plans from Joe Biden.
In theory, the House was supposed to vote Thursday on a $ 1.2 trillion budget for infrastructure, but the party’s left wing threatens to torpedo the text if a vote is not taken earlier on $ 3.5 trillion for social reforms and the climate. Except that two centrist senators, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, are blowing hot and cold, and the two texts could be threatened. At 9:00 p.m., discussions continued with no compromise in sight.
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