Senate votes on debt ceiling deal amidst GOP backlash.

The US Senate is racing to pass a bipartisan agreement to raise the $31.4tn US debt ceiling before the Treasury Department runs out of funds to pay its debts for the first time in American history on Monday. The deal, which also includes new federal spending cuts, cleared the House of Representatives with 314 votes in favour of the legislation on Wednesday night. The narrowness of its passage from the House committee underscored the need for Democrats to help it pass the House, where Republicans hold a slim majority of 222 to 213.