House Republicans pass US debt Bill in effort to push Joe Biden on spending

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (J Scott Applewhite/AP)

House Republicans in the US have narrowly passed sweeping legislation that would raise the government’s legal debt ceiling by 1.5 trillion dollars, in exchange for steep spending restrictions.

The move represents a tactical victory for speaker Kevin McCarthy as he challenges President Joe Biden to negotiate and prevent a catastrophic federal default this summer.