US Senate approves measure to raise debt ceiling ahead of looming default

WASHINGTON - US Senate on Tuesday approved a measure to lift the nation's borrowing limit by $2.5 trillion, just one day before the deadline set by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for lawmakers to take action to prevent a default.

The upper chamber voted 50-49 along party lines to raise the debt limit to roughly $31 trillion, after Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer struck a deal to allow Democrats to approve the measure through simple-majority votes in the evenly-split Senate.

The Democrats-held House of Representative is expected to quickly clear the legislation, which will then be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature.

The measure would increase the debt limit by 2.5 trillion, which is expected to last until 2023 without the need for another vote to raise the borrowing cap, avoiding another partisan fight over the debt ceiling issue before the midterm elections next year.

In mid-November, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen already urged Congress to raise the federal government's debt limit by Dec 15 to avoid a potential default.