Joe Biden can – for now – breathe. The American senators approved Thursday a temporary budget which will have to be adopted in the wake by the House and then promulgated before midnight by the president in order to avoid the paralysis of the services of the federal State. In the event of delay, hundreds of thousands of federal employees would find themselves technically unemployed, with the closure of ministries, national parks, museums, etc.
The text, which provides for an extension of the budget until December 3, was approved (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 hardest part is yet to come
The United States faces a default 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 an envelope of 1.2 trillion dedicated to infrastructure, but the left wing of the party threatens to torpedo the text if a vote does not take place before on 3.500 billion dollars 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.