Politics recap

  • A cloture vote on suspending the debt limit was postponed, so that Democrats could discuss Republican leader Mitch McConnell’s compromise offer to raise the debt ceiling into December. The proposal came after Joe Biden said it was “a real possibility” that Democrats would consider changing the filibuster rules in order to push through the debt limit vote and avoid a historic default.
  • As Democrats debate the reconciliation bill, the tension between Bernie Sanders and Joe Manchin has been escalating. “Senator Sanders and I share very different policy and political beliefs. As he and I have discussed, Sen. Sanders believes America should be moving towards an entitlement society while I believe we should have a compassionate and rewarding society,” said moderate Machin, who is one of two senators standing in the way of Democrats’ plan to push through major social investments. Sanders held fast: “Is protecting working families and cutting child poverty an entitlement?”
  • Meanwhile, the Biden administration has been stumping around the country to promote the president’s infrastructure and reconciliation package. The message: investing in both “human infrastructure” and actual infrastructure will lead to economic
    growth and competitiveness in the job market.
  • Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen will meet with the 6 January Select Committee, CNN reported. Haugen had alleged that the social network contributed to the deadly attack on the capitol. Post-election, “I don’t trust that they’re willing to actually invest what needs to be invested to keep Facebook from being dangerous,” she said.

– Vivian Ho and Maanvi Singh

Updated

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen will meet with the 6 January Select Committee, CNN reports:

#BREAK The Facebook whistleblower @FrancesHaugen is expected to meet with the January 6th Select Committee as soon as tomorrow, three sources with knowledge tell CNN.

— Donie O'Sullivan (@donie) October 6, 2021

Haugen had alleged that the social network contributed to the deadly attack on the capitol. Post-election, “I don’t trust that they’re willing to actually invest what needs to be invested to keep Facebook from being dangerous,” she said.

California’s governor Gavin Newsom has been busy signing a slew of bills, having defeated a Republican-backed effort to recall him.

He signed two bills banning a class of harmful “forever chemicals” called PFAS from baby products and from food packaging, making California one of the first states to take such steps. PFAS have been linked to reproductive issues and cancer.

“This law puts California in the lead for protecting children’s health,” Bill Allayaud, director of California government affairs for the nonprofit organization Environmental Working Group, said in a statement. “We applaud Gov. Newsom for giving parents confidence that the products they buy for their children are free from toxic PFAS.”

Newsom also signed a bill that would thwart the use of environmental lawsuits to block needle exchange programs.

As Democrats debate the reconciliation bill, the tension between Bernie Sanders and Joe Manchin has been escalating.

Manchin: “Senator Sanders and I share very different policy and political beliefs. As he and I have discussed, Sen. Sanders believes America should be moving towards an entitlement society while I believe we should have a compassionate and rewarding society”

Manchin responds: “Respectfully, Sen. Sanders and I share very different policy and political beliefs. As he and I have discussed, Sen. Sanders believes America should be moving towards an entitlement society while I believe we should have a compassionate and rewarding society” https://t.co/7J4WebE02h

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 6, 2021

Sanders: “Is protecting working families and cutting child poverty an entitlement?”

Progressives have said that focusing on the topline numbers of the reconciliation bill – which would fund the major social reforms that encompassed Joe Biden’s presidential platform – mischaracterizes its significance.

The media focus on hazy topline numbers is a gift favoring the tiny # of holdouts.

It lets them get away w/ saying “oh I want X trillion, not Y” instead of actual positions- “cut childcare” or “I want to block making Rx drugs affordable”

People should know what they want to gut https://t.co/vc5YBgH3jd

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 6, 2021

At least four Black women and girls were murdered per day in the US last year

Lois Beckett and Abené Clayton report:

A least four Black women and girls were murdered per day in the United States in 2020, according to statistics released by the FBI last week, a sharp increase compared with the year before.

The FBI recorded at least 405 additional murders of Black women and girls last year as homicide surged across the country, and experts caution that even that stark number probably represents an undercount.

To families of victims and local activists, the release of the data is just the latest reminder that violence against Black women and girls often goes ignored, and should be made a more urgent public priority.

“What’s sad is that a lot of cases aren’t taken too seriously. It’s just another Black girl,” said Jennifer Redmond, whose 19-year-old daughter Sarayah Jade was killed last September.

Sarayah Jade was sitting in a Sacramento, California, apartment with friends when someone started shooting through the windows and walls. She tried to dodge the bullets but was hit, and later died at the hospital.

Since her death, Sarayah’s parents and siblings have fought to keep focus on her loss. They have held marches and passed out flyers, and have urged police to keep investigating the case.

“For them to get recognized, we the parents have to go out there, make the noise, let people know, ‘Hey, this is what’s going on. Pay attention,’” Redmond told the Guardian.

Read more:

Today so far

  • The cloture vote on suspending the debt limit - which Republicans said they planned on using the filibuster to block once again - was postponed in the Senate today after minority leader Mitch McConnell came in with a proposal for a short-term, fixed-amount raise to the debt limit as well as an offer for an expedited budget reconciliation process.
  • McConnell’s proposal came after Joe Biden told reporters that it was “a real possibility” that Democrats would consider changing the filibuster rules. That option did not have the support of everyone in the caucus - centrist Joe Manchin said today that his stance on reforming the filibuster still has not changed - but it got a different response out of McConnell and led to the postponement of the vote.
  • The White House still believes that the simplest route would be for the Republicans to stop using the filibuster to block the Democrats. Leaders on the hill are still in meetings, however, on their next move, but so far most are agreed that no one wants to go the route of budget reconciliation.

Updated

However, Joe Biden faced some criticism for being willing to take on the filibuster when it came to the debt limit - but not for voting rights.

If they carve out a filibuster exception for the debt limit and not voting rights, I’m going to start rooting for the robots or the comet. Enough with this crap!

— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) October 6, 2021

A reporter asked White House press secretary Jen Psaki for some clarification on the comments that Joe Biden made last night on changing the rules of filibuster as a way to bypass the Republicans and raise the debt limit. “It’s a real possibility,” he said, after a summer of opposing ending the filibuster.

“The president was just simply conveying that there are a range of offers that leaders on the hill are discussing,” Psaki said.

Biden’s about-face on the filibuster was a bit of a bluff, seeing as the Democrats. would require a majority in the Senate to change any of the rules of the filibuster. Centrists Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have always opposed filibuster reform, and Manchin said today that his stance has not changed.

But some believe the bluff was enough to make minority leader Mitch McConnell blink and offer up his short-term, fixed-amount proposal to the debt limit.

If McConnell did blink, two possible reasons. One, he feared that he and the GOP would be blamed more for the catastrophe. Two, he believed that Schumer would have the votes for a filibuster exception for the debt ceiling, opening the door to further exceptions. I pick #2.

— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) October 6, 2021

With senators still meeting on Capitol Hill and White House press secretary Jen Psaki fielding questions at the press briefing, there seem to be a variety of different answers coming out regarding what the Democrats are going to do about Mitch McConnell and his short-term, fixed-amount raise to the debt limit proposal.

NEW: Sen. Tammy Baldwin tells @jaketapper that her read is that Dems intend to “take this temporary victory” on debt ceiling and take a deal for a temporary extension from the GOP/ McConnell:
Full exchange-> pic.twitter.com/4wzAkBzs6d

— Ryan Nobles (@ryanobles) October 6, 2021

.@ChrisMurphyCT says Senate Democrats are willing to take a short-term debt limit hike.

But they’re a NO on reconciliation.

“We made it clear—we're not doing it through reconciliation. That's a recipe for long-term disaster. So it’s up to Republicans.”

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) October 6, 2021

White House on debt limit: "We could get this done today"

White House press secretary Jen Psaki took to the podium at today’s press briefing to address the proposal floated by senate minority leader Mitch McConnell earlier regarding the debt limit.

“The scant details that have been reported present even more complicated, more difficult options than the one that is quite obvious in the president’s view and is in front of the faces of every member of the Hill,” Psaki said.

“We could get this done today. We don’t need to kick the can. We don’t need to go through a cumbersome process that every day brings additional risks.”

To recap: the US is barreling toward economic catastrophe with an 18 October deadline approaching on the federal debt limit. Democrats have twice attempted to raise the debt limit but both times, Republicans have blocked their efforts, using the filibuster to prevent Democrats from bypassing their objections with a mere majority vote.

Republicans wanted Democrats to go forward on raising the debt limit through a very complicated and lengthy budget reconciliation process. Democrats did not want this, in part because they want Republicans to take responsibility for the $8tn in debt that they incurred under the Trump administration, but also because Congress can only use budget reconciliation three times a year. The Biden administration obviously has some loaded legislation (the reconciliation bill and the voting rights For the People Act) before them that they need to save this for - they already had gone through budget reconciliation once before for the Covid bill.

It was from here that the Democrats began talking about the filibuster and looking at changing filibuster rules to bypass the Republicans and raise the debt limit. Within hours, McConnell offered an alternative to a promised “expedited” budget reconciliation process: a short-term, fixed-amount raise to the debt limit to December.

Democrats are still in meetings to about this proposal. “My understanding is that there has been no formal offer made,” Psaki said. “A press release is not a formal offer.”

Updated

Senator Bernie Sanders is sounding off on the Mitch McConnell proposals:

Bernie Sanders called the emerging McConnell debt offer a “good start” and a “step forward” because it demonstrates the GOP, which he described as “extremist,” won’t allow a default.  But he doesn’t know if Dem leaders will, or in his view, should accept, per @tedbarrettcnn

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 6, 2021

Here we go.

Stuff a-brewing: Sens. Cornyn and Hawley says Senate is recessing before debt limit vote. Apparent talks happening....

— Mike DeBonis (@mikedebonis) October 6, 2021

Reuters is now reporting that Republicans leaving the Senate are saying that today’s vote to suspend the debt limit has now been postponed. More to come.

We have more reaction coming in to Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell and his proposal for a short-term, fixed-amount raise of the debt limit to December, or an expedited budget reconciliation.

“We’ll see,” @SenatorDurbin says of @LeaderMcConnell offer.

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) October 6, 2021

Democrats having special caucus now after McConnell’s offer. Here’s Sen. Murray, the No. 3 Democrat, on what McConnell proposed: “we’re not doing reconciliation”

— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) October 6, 2021

Though he’s trying to avoid default, McConnell is also barely giving an inch here. He’s still making Democrats put a number on the debt ceiling, potentially twice with a short-term extension, and forcing Democrats to use reconciliation. Hard to see how Democrats accept this

— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) October 6, 2021

Senator Mazie Hirono had strong words for minority leader Mitch McConnell and his new offer for a short-term raise on the debt limit:

Mazie Hirono describes the McConnell offer on the debt ceiling to reporters as “bullshit”

— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) October 6, 2021

This coming from the man who makes “wrecking the Senate” his full-time job.

Mitch McConnell has made it crystal clear what his agenda is: destroying President Biden's agenda.

He doesn't give a rip about helping the American people. https://t.co/3oKPgsd5Mu

— Senator Mazie Hirono (@maziehirono) October 6, 2021

Sen. @maziehirono, when I ask what she makes of @LeaderMcConnell’s new debt limit offer: “Not much.”

She accuses McConnell of standing in the way of a solution while pretending to save the country.

“Don’t make me laugh,” she says.

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) October 6, 2021

McConnell to offer short-term raise on debt limit

As we head into the Senate cloture vote to raise the debt limit – yes, the one Republicans have said repeatedly they plan to block yet again with a filibuster – minority leader Mitch McConnell is still refusing to budge on that.

But now he is offering a short-term raise in the debt ceiling to put off defaulting by a few months – it’s this short-term extension, or his old stance of raising the debt limit through budget reconciliation.

“We have already made it clear we would assist in expediting the 304 reconciliation process for standalone debt limit legislation,” McConnell said. “To protect the American people from a near-term Democrat-created crisis, we will also allow Democrats to use normal procedures to pass an emergency debt limit extension at a fixed dollar amount to cover current spending levels into December. This will moot Democrats’ excuses about the time crunch they created and give the unified Democratic government more than enough time to pass standalone debt limit legislation through reconciliation.”

My new statement on the Democrats’ self-created debt limit crisis: pic.twitter.com/XwuqyS9oZ0

— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) October 6, 2021

McConnell told his colleagues he’s concerned about pressure on Manchin and Sinema to gut filibuster in order to raise debt ceiling, I’m told. He pointed to this as reason why he is floating short-term increase in order to ease pressure on and push Democrats to use reconcilation

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 6, 2021

Reminder that both Joe Biden and majority leader Chuck Schumer are against going the reconciliation route, not just because they want Republicans to take responsibility for the $8tn in debt that they incurred under the Trump administration, but because the process is complicated and lengthy and there’s a chance that it won’t finish before the 18 October deadline.

It appears though that should Democrats go the budget reconciliation route, McConnell is promising an expedited path.

McConnell is proposing a short-term raise of debt ceiling (with specific number they would raise the debt limit to). It would go thru November until December.

Or he is offering an expedited path through the reconcilation process, with limited floor debate and limited amendments https://t.co/s7oM42gpU4

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 6, 2021

Updated

Donald Trump’s former press secretary Stephanie Grisham did not vote for him in the 2020 election, she has revealed.

Grisham, who also worked as the White House’s east wing communications director and chief of staff to Melania Trump, said that she wished there was a different Republican candidate to vote for in last year’s elections.

“Did you vote for Donald Trump in 2020?” CNN’s Jake Tapper asked her yesterday. “I did not,” Grisham said, adding that she filled in a different candidate but declined to reveal the person’s identity.

Grisham, who this released I’ll Take Your Questions Now, a widely-trailed book about White House gossip and scandal during the chaotic Trump administration, has also warned of a potential re-run by the former president in 2024.

“He’s on his revenge tour, for people who dared to vote for impeachment,” she told ABC’s Good Morning America on Monday. “And I want to just warn people that once he takes office if he were to win, he doesn’t have to worry about re-election any more. He will be about revenge, he will probably have some pretty draconian policies.”

Grisham’s recent media appearances have received widespread attention, including criticism, particularly towards her prior favorable position towards the Trump administration.

Don Winslow, an American author and political activist, tweeted on Wednesday, “Stephanie Grisham loved working with Donald Trump. She was honored to do so,” referring to a previous tweet made by Grisham on January 6, the day of the insurrection at the US Capitol by extremist Trump supporters, at the urging of the outgoing president, in which she praised the administration.

“Why are the press allowing her to rewrite history?”, Winslow added.

Wajahat Ali, a Daily Beast columnist, also condemned Grisham, tweeting: “So we have rehabilitated Stephanie Grisham who was part and parcel of Trump’s grift and attack on democracy and did nothing to stop it and is now profiting off it? Good good. They all fall up in DC.”

Updated

Interim summary

It’s been a lively morning with reactions on the Facebook whistleblower testimony and lawmakers in a stew on Capitol Hill over the debt ceiling. There’s a lot more to come in the next few hours, so stay tuned.

Main events so far:

  • Joe Biden is meeting with top US bank and business leaders right now, virtually from the White House, about the federal debt limit, with specific plans to shame Republicans for their “obstruction and political games” in using the filibuster to block the Democrats and their efforts to raise the debt limit. He accused the GOP of playing “Russian routlette” with the US economy.
  • Democratic Senator Chris Coons has told reporters that “there very well may be” 50 votes in the Senate to change the filibuster rules to bypass the Republicans and allow the Democrats move forward and raise the debt limit. But that’s not what WV’s Joe Manchin is signaling...
  • Senate commerce sub-committee’s Democratic chair Richard Blumenthal called for more whistleblowers to come forward with more documents exposing Facebook’s alleged profits-over-safety policies, like the ones Frances Haugen provided and spoke about to Congress yesterday. He also called for Mark Zuckerberg to testify once again on Capitol Hill.

Biden calls out Republicans on debt limit

Joe Biden is meeting with top US bank and business leaders today about the debt limit, with specific plans to shame Republicans for their “obstruction and political games” in using the filibuster to block the Democrats and their efforts to raise the debt limit.

Once again, he highlighted the danger of the US defaulting on its debts, which it will if Congress does not raise the debt limit for the first time in history by the 18 October deadline.

“Defaulting on the debt, which (treasury secretary Janet Yellen) said could happen on any day after October the 18th, means that social security benefits will stop,” Biden said. “Salaries to service members will stop. Benefits to veterans will stop, and much more. A failure to raise the debt limit will undermine the safety of the United States’ treasury securities, threaten reserve status of the dollar as a world currency that the world relies on, downgrade America’s credit rating and result in a rise in interest rates for families talking about mortgages, auto loans, credit cards.”

He pointed out, once again, that Congress raised the debt limit three times under Donald Trump. During Trump’s presidency, Republicans added almost $8tn to the country’s debt, Biden said.

“My Republican friends need to stop playing Russian roulette with the US economy,” Biden said. “If they don’t want to do the job, just get out of the way.”

The president is joined by treasury secretary Janet Yellen and commerce secretary Gina Raimondo as he meets with the heads of Citi, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Intel, Deloitte LLP, Nasdaq, Raytheon Technologies, the National Association of REALTORS and the AARP.

Let’s talk the $1.2tn infrastructure bill and the reconciliation bill.

The Biden administration has their top people this week traveling around the country and speaking virtually about these two packages, stumping hard about how investing in both “human infrastructure” and actual infrastructure will lead to economic growth and competitiveness in the job market.

  • Vice president Kamala Harris is traveling to New Jersey on Friday.
  • Energy secretary Jennifer Granholm is hosting an Instagram Live conversation with young Latino leaders.
  • Education secretary Miguel Cardona is traveling to the Rio Grande Valley.
  • HUD secretary Marcia Fudge is touring a revitalized community in Michigan.
  • Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg is speaking virtually in Chicago.

Meanwhile, in Washington, negotiations continue within the Democratic caucus on the size of the reconciliation package. Progressives were happy with the bill as it was when it was $3.5tn, but Republicans and centrists Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema were horrified.

Joe Biden has proposed drastically scaling plans down to around $1.9tn to $2.2tn, while representative Pramila Jayapal, leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, has countered with $2.5tn to $2.9tn.

Manchin also reiterated that $1.5 trillion is his price tag on the larger social safety net package, a day after he told me that he hasn’t ruled out $1.9T-$2.2T and Biden applauded those comments https://t.co/NOrqDfZnBY

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 6, 2021

So now that the Democrats don’t have the 50 votes needed to make a change to the filibuster rules ahead of the debt ceiling vote today, they could always appeal to the Republicans...by not calling it a filibuster, or a change to filibuster rules with the debt ceiling, etc.

However, that route doesn’t look promising either, according to Republican senator Josh Hawley:

Hawley says “multiple GOP senators” made clear at Tues lunch that they’d object to setting a 51-vote threshold to suspend debt limit. Asked him if he’d object. “What I've said on that is I'll defer to to the Leader on that. I'll defer to Sen. McConnell, in terms of the procedure”

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 6, 2021

So what now?

With Dems saying no to reconcilation, GOP not allowing up-or-down vote by simple majority, and Manchin saying he hasn’t changed on filibuster rules, Dems at a loss on how to avert default for now. “I don’t know what it is,” Durbin told me when asked what other option they have

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 6, 2021

*Record scratch sound effect* Hold up. Senator Chris Coons just told reporters that “there very well may be” the 50 votes needed in the Senate to change the filibuster rules, bypass the Republicans and allow the Democrats to move forward and raise the debt limit.

That would have required centrist Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, longtime holdouts on the filibuster, to get in line with their party and vote for reform.

And yet:

lest anyone had any remaining doubt -- Manchin pretty much batted down the idea of weakening filibuster on debt limit.

soooo here we are.

— Tony Romm (@TonyRomm) October 6, 2021

Joe Manchin says "nothing changes" on his position on the filibuster after saying, without evidence, "we're not going to default."

That's like me saying "Nothing changes" in my diet or exercise but "I'm going to lose weight."

— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) October 6, 2021

On debt limit, Manchin calls on McConnell and Schumer to cut a deal. “I’ve been very very clear where I stand on the filibuster. Nothing changes.” He has been opposed to lowering the 60-vote threshold

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 6, 2021

To sum up last 24 hours: Biden calls filibuster carve out a “real possibility,” rank and file Dems who support gutting the filibuster echo him, Manchin reiterates opposition

— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) October 6, 2021

Updated

Coons: 'There very well may be' 50 votes to change filibuster rules

Senator Chris Coons has told reporters that “there very well may be” 50 votes in the Senate to change the filibuster rules to bypass the Republicans and allow the Democrats move forward and raise the debt limit.

Sen. Chris Coons told us “there very well may be“ 50 votes in the Senate to change filibuster rules to let the debt ceiling bill be advanced by a simple majority, saying there’s “a lot of passion in the caucus” about the standoff with the GOP and getting debt ceiling raised.

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 6, 2021

New: Sen. Chris Coons says “there very well may be“ 50 votes in Senate to change filibuster rules to let debt ceiling bill advance by a simple majority, saying there’s “a lot of passion in the caucus” about the standoff with the GOP and getting the debt ceiling raised.

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) October 6, 2021

COONS says likelihood of Ds using a filibuster carve-out to deal w/ debt limit is “very strong” if GOP continues to block the bill.

“My hope is that after today's vote Republicans will rethink their approach, or you may see, I think, some damage to this institution,” he says.

— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) October 6, 2021

Reminder: Centrist Democrat senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have always been the holdouts on the filibuster, while many other Democrats have either called for an end to the practice or to reform it.

It appears something is in the works, with Joe Biden changing course on his stance on the filibuster as well last night.

On the debt limit, @LeaderMcConnell accuses @SenSchumer of using "manufactured drama" to "bully" centrist Democrats into "going back on their word" regarding the filibuster.

He argues this would amount to "wrecking the Senate."

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) October 6, 2021

This doesn’t necessarily mean that the Senate will do away with the filibuster all together. They could vote to carve out a filibuster exception for the debt limit, for example. Either way, for those pushing for filibuster reform, this is a promising development at a point in time when Democrats may just have been pushed far enough to act.

Updated

The Senate vote on the debt limit won’t be for a few hours, but minority leader Mitch McConnell is already setting an ominous tone:

McConnell on GOP opposition ahead of today's Senate procedural vote to suspend the debt ceiling: "He (Schumer) scheduled yet another vote this afternoon which he knows will fail. The majority has known for 3 months that show votes like this would go nowhere." https://t.co/nFhTWEm7Na pic.twitter.com/iWtadvk8Xn

— Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) October 6, 2021

An option in this whole debt limit debacle is for Democrats to tackle the filibuster once again.

A filibuster is a procedural tactic that allows a minority of senators to block a vote. It takes 60 votes to break a filibuster, and in a Senate with as narrow margins as this one, that’s not going to happen unless Republican senators vote against their party.

Republicans have used the filibuster to block voting rights legislation, gun control measure as well as the formation of a bipartisan commission investigating the 6 January attack on the US Capitol.

Many Democrats have been outspoken on how they believe that the filibuster is now causing more harm than good.

Again for those in the back: THE FILIBUSTER IS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND IN THE CONSTITUTION AND HAS BECOME AN UNTENABLE STUMBLING BLOCK FOR OUR DEMOCRACY. IT MUST GO.

— Alex Padilla (@AlexPadilla4CA) October 3, 2021

Over the summer, however, during the fight for the For the People Act to expand voting rights, Joe Biden was against ending the filibuster. He always stopped short of calling to abolish the tactic that stymied so much of his agenda, despite advocates and community leaders pleading with him to do so.

Last night outside the White House, it appeared he may have changed his tune. In an off-the-cuff remark to reporters, he said, “It’s a real possibility” that Democrats are considering a change to the filibuster rules.

This could mean a number of things. Some lawmakers would be in favor, perhaps, of allowing some wiggle room to bypass the filibuster in certain cases but not abolishing the rule altogether, which many Democrats are for. Others are looking to revert rules back to the way they used to be and require senators to actually hold the floor and physically stand at the podium.

That means little, however. Democrats would need a majority vote in the Senate to end the filibuster and centrist Democrats senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have both said they’re against it. Neither of their offices have made any comment as of late if that has changed in light of the debt limit.

Updated

The Senate will vote today on raising the limit on the debt ceiling, which Congress must do before 18 October in order to avoid economic catastrophe (no hyperbole).

Republicans have already twice used the filibuster to block efforts by the Democrats to raise the debt limit and are expected to do so once again today.

To recap: Republicans believe the Democrats and the Democrats alone should raise the debt limit. Which usually would be all fine and dandy because all that requires is a simple majority and Democrats currently have the majority of 51 votes in the Senate.

But if Republicans use the filibuster, Democrats would need 60 votes to pass the measure. Now when Republicans say they want Democrats to raise the debt limit “on their own”, they mean through budget reconciliation, a very complicated and lenghty process that neither Joe Biden nor senate majority leader Chuck Schumer are very keen on undertaking.

One big reason why the Democrats are so against pursuing budget reconciliation is that they feel that the Republicans need to take responsibility here. Beyond the fact that they’re clearly behaving in a manner that would sow the most chaos under a Democrat president with a Democrat-majority Congress, White House press secretary Jen Psaki pointed out earlier this week that Republicans incurred almost $8tn in the four years under Donald Trump – more than a quarter of the entire debt now outstanding.

“This is their debt that they chalked up themselves,” Psaki said. “This is a period of time where we could easily solve this in the next two days, and easily do that through allowing Democrats to be the adults in the room, despite the fact that Republicans spent like drunken sailors over the last four years before President Biden took office.”

Updated

Bipartisan anger over the Facebook whistleblower testimony

Greetings, live blog readers.

Yesterday, Frances Haugen, a 37-year-old former Facebook employee, testified before the Senate about how the social media giant harms children, is destabilizing democracies and is putting “astronomical profits before people”.

While many have been critical about the role of tech companies in our democracy before, Haugen’s testimony appears to have inspired a rare bipartisan consensus on the need for new regulations.

Senator Richard Blumenthal went on CNN today to call for more whistleblowers to come forward with more documents like the ones Haugen provided. He also called for Mark Zuckerberg to testify before Congress.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) calls on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify before Congress:

“We can’t count on Mark Zuckerberg to tell us the truth. He has lost all trust, if he ever had any.” pic.twitter.com/cjI6qn58XK

— The Recount (@therecount) October 6, 2021

“I think they’re beginning to realize they have a big tobacco moment on their hands,” Blumenthal said, of Facebook. “I was involved and helped lead the states in suing the big tobacco companies and I remember well that lightbulb moment, a jaw-dropping time when we discovered all of the files of the big tobacco companies and how they knew of the harm they were causing, the toxic products and the denial was suddenly dispelled.

“I think Facebook faces the same moment of reckoning and a moment of truth.”

Hearings are great, but I want action. Frances Haugen wants action. It's time for Facebook to be held accountable with legislation, and I'm asking you to join me in calling on Congress to act. pic.twitter.com/ikpRzCVOlh

— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) October 6, 2021

This is very significant -- a senior former Facebook employee speaking out in support of Haugen.

Samidh was often put forward to tout the good work the company was doing -- even being part of the much-mocked 2018 photoshoot in Facebook's election "war room." https://t.co/d8VsxYtzVm

— Donie O'Sullivan (@donie) October 6, 2021

Read more here:

Contributors

Maanvi Singh (now) and Vivian Ho (earlier)

The GuardianTramp

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Biden talks up vaccine mandates and says unvaccinated have ‘put our economy at risk’ – as it happened
President backs mandates and says ‘no other way to beat the pandemic than get the majority of people vaccinated’ – follow all the latest

Maanvi Singh (now) and Vivian Ho (earlier)

08, Oct, 2021 @12:59 AM

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Democrats prepare for showdown over key spending and climate bill – as it happened
Senate Democrats move forward with $740bn legislative package after Manchin agrees deal with Schumer

Vivian Ho

01, Aug, 2022 @8:16 PM

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Joe Biden signs bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday – as it happened
‘Great nations don’t ignore their most painful moments,’ president says while supreme court upholds Obamacare

Maanvi Singh (now) and Joan E Greve in Washington (earlier)

18, Jun, 2021 @12:15 AM

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House votes to fund government amid shutdown threats by Senate Republicans – as it happened
House leaders settle on stopgap measure to extend funding until mid-February – follow all the latest news

Maanvi Singh (now) and Lauren Aratani (earlier)

03, Dec, 2021 @1:04 AM

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‘We’re going to get it done’: Biden vows to break impasse after Capitol Hill talks
President meets Democrats with domestic agenda in jeopardy, but hopes of truce dashed after moderate condemns Pelosi’s tactics

David Smith and Lauren Gambino in Washington

02, Oct, 2021 @12:03 AM

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Joe Biden beats Donald Trump to win US election 2020 – as it happened
Biden has won the election, winning Pennsylvania and Nevada and surpassing the 270 electoral college votes needed for the White House

Joan E Greve (now); Martin Belam, Tom McCarthy and Maanvi Singh (earlier)

07, Nov, 2020 @5:54 PM

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House to aim to vote on infrastructure and reconciliation bills next week, Hoyer says – as it happened
Majority leader aims for votes next week as Pelosi says Democrats nearing deal on reconciliation package – follow the day’s news

Dani Anguiano (now) and Joan E Greve (earlier)

23, Oct, 2021 @12:33 AM