The Senate is expected to vote on a procedural step that would bring a suspension of the debt ceiling to a floor vote, even as Republicans insist they will not support the move. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told President Biden earlier this week that Democrats would have to pass the bill through reconciliation even though Republicans could allow the measure to pass with a simple majority. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer blasted Republicans’ “irresponsibility” Tuesday.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer: “We can stop this Republican-manufactured debt ceiling crisis in its tracks, or Republicans can keep driving our country ever closer to the first default in American history.”

On Tuesday, President Biden said Democrats could move to reform filibuster rules to bypass the Republican blockade on the debt limit, though conservative Democrats Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin have previously voiced their opposition to filibuster changes.

According to research by ProPublica, the national debt rose by $7.8 trillion to $28 trillion, due in large part to Republicans’ and then-President Trump’s 2017 tax cuts for corporations and the ultra-rich.