Dems absent as lawmakers race to vote on debt ceiling agreement

Two House Democrats will be absent from Capitol Hill for health-related reasons as lawmakers race to vote on the debt ceiling agreement.

The U.S. government is expected to run out of money to meet all its payment obligations on June 5 if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minnesota, will be out after suffering an ankle injury over Memorial Day weekend.

According to her chief of staff Nick Coe, “While getting some yard work done at home in Minnesota on Monday evening, Rep. Craig tripped and injured her ankle.”

Craig is scheduled to undergo ankle repair surgery and has been advised not to fly beforehand or immediately after. So she will miss votes in Congress this week related to the Bipartisan Budget Agreement. However, the congresswoman “looks forward to getting back to work” for her constituents “as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Deborah Ross, D-North Carolina, will also miss voting this week after testing positive for COVID-19.

Ross said on Twitter that she had tested positive on Tuesday morning and “will not be able to vote this week since proxy voting ended.”

“While I am disappointed to be missing such a consequential week in DC, I support the bipartisan agreement that (President Joe Biden) has negotiated to prevent a catastrophic default,” Ross added.

The debt ceiling deal was negotiated between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-California, and Biden and is expected to rely on votes from House Democrats to overcome opposition from a number of hard-line House Republicans who say the deal does not do enough to reduce spending.

While Ross and Craig expressed plans to vote in favor of the bill if they were present, Republican and some Democratic lawmakers are vowing vote against the debt ceiling agreement, potentially leading to a disastrous economic default.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, tweeted that he will not vote to raise the debt ceiling, arguing that “Congress has a responsibility to stop runaway spending and prevent the harms that come with it.” Other Republicans are expected to follow suit and vote against the bill.

After weeks of tensions and recent negotiations, Biden and McCarthy announced on Saturday that they’d reached a tentative agreement on the debt ceiling, and the bill deal was released on Sunday. Craig’s ankle injury and Ross’ COVID-19 diagnosis threaten to create a possible absence of Democratic votes.

The Senate is working to pass the debt ceiling deal by the end of the week, with a final vote possibly being pushed back as late as Wednesday if any senator objects.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, will also try to add an amendment to remove a provision in the deal that would expedite the approval of a natural gas pipeline backed by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia.

“At this point, any needless delay or any last-minute holdups would be an unnecessary and even dangerous risk,” Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-New York, warned on Thursday.

As the clock ticks toward the looming deadline, the absence of two Democratic votes and the potential rebellion of Republican lawmakers threaten to derail the debt ceiling agreement.