House Republicans pass US debt bill, push Prez Joe Biden on spending

House Republicans passed sweeping legislation Wednesday that would raise the government's legal debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion in exchange for steep spending restrictions, a tactical victory for Speaker Kevin McCarthy as he challenges President Joe Biden to negotiate and prevent a catastrophic federal default this summer.

Biden has threatened to veto the Republican package, which has almost no chance of passing the Democratic Senate in the meantime, and the president has so far refused to negotiate over the debt ceiling which the White House insists must be lifted with no strings to ensure America pays its bills.

But McCarthy's ability to unite his slim majority and bring the measure to passage over opposition from Democrats and even holdouts in his own party gives currency to the Republican speaker's strategy to use the vote as an opening bid forcing Biden into talks.

The two men could hardly be further apart on how to resolve the issue.

The hour has come, we have to work together