House to vote on debt limit deal as lawmakers race to avert default

The House of Representatives is on track to vote Wednesday on a bill to suspend the nation's debt limit through January 1, 2025, as lawmakers race to prevent a catastrophic default.

Earlier Wednesday, the chamber cleared a key hurdle to advance to a final vote when it approved a rule governing floor debate for the debt limit bill. Rules are typically supported by just the majority party and opposed by the minority. But in this case, 52 Democrats voted "yes" to get the rule across the finish line after 29 Republicans voted against it.

Democratic leaders instructed their members to let Republicans put up their votes for the rule first, a source familiar told CNN. The strategy: let Republicans sweat and show how many defections GOP leaders had. The defections exposed deep divisions within the House Republican conference.

Passage of the rule clears the way for a final House vote on the debt ceiling bill this evening.

If the House passes the bill as expected, it would next need to be passed by the Senate before it can be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. In the Senate, any one lawmaker can delay a swift vote and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has told lawmakers to prepare for the possibility of votes Friday or over the weekend.

The timeframe to pass the bill through Congress is extremely tight and there is little room for error, putting enormous pressure on leadership in both parties.

Lawmakers are racing the clock to avert a first-ever default ahead of June 5, the date the Treasury Department has said it will no longer be able to pay all of the nation's obligations in full and on time, a scenario that could trigger global economic catastrophe.