Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Image source, Reuters

Texas lawmaker Chip Roy is another Republican holdout in the room.

Roy, who walked in about two hours after the hearing began, is sceptical about whether the bill can help "restore the country's fiscal strength".

He alleges that the first and only credit downgrade America suffered, in 2011 during another serious debt ceiling impasse, happened because "they [the credit ratings agency S&P] didn't believe we would do what we needed to get our fiscal house in order".

Roy says Congress has "walked away" from any significant spending cuts and offers little more than a "spending freeze" in a post-pandemic environment in which the government is already spending too much.

Republican witness Jason Smith, the Budget Committee chairman, testifies that the bill is not perfect but is the equivalent of turning the Titanic away from the iceberg, even if slowly. But Roy doesn't appear convinced.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

"This bill is smoke and mirrors," says South Carolina Republican Ralph Norman.

Norman, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, has already indicated he will vote against the bill.

Image source, EPA

He explains that negotiations "started in the right direction" but Republicans gave away all their leverage when "we should have walked away".

"I get why the Democrats are voting for it," he says. "They're getting everything they want."

He slams Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for changing the deadline date for when the US would default three times, and says the only people happy with the deal are "this rogue administration" and China.

Natalie Sherman
US business reporter

Also known as the debt limit, this is a law that limits the total amount of money the government can borrow to pay its bills.

This includes paying for federal employees, the military, Social Security and Medicare, as well as interest on the national debt and tax refunds. Every so often US Congress votes to raise or suspend the ceiling so it can borrow more.

The cap currently stands at roughly $31.4tn (£25.2tn). That limit was breached in January, but the Treasury Department used "extraordinary measures" to provide the government with more cash while it figured out what to do.

Usually it's a formality for Congress to raise the limit as needed, but this time it took awhile to agree on the terms. The debt ceiling has been raised 78 times since 1960.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that without more borrowing, the US will not have enough money to meet all of its financial obligations as soon as 5 June.

The debt bill must pass the House of Representatives in a vote tomorrow to meet that deadline.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

All eyes were on Thomas Massie just now.

The Republican lawmaker from Kentucky is often a contrarian in the House and many wondered how he would vote on the debt ceiling bill.

“I don’t like the process that led to this bill,” he says, but notes it has a “redeeming portion” that requires a 1% cut in spending if Congress does not pass 12 appropriations bills as intended during the fiscal year.

Image source, Getty Images

Massie adds that being on the Rules Committee - and having the ability to influence bills and amendments before they go for a vote - comes with a responsibility to “not imprint an ideology” on your votes.

With the long lens of a camera mere inches from his face, he says: "I anticipate voting for this rule."

Massie's yes vote will likely allow the bill to advance through this panel. That will come as a relief to Speaker McCarthy.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Republicans on the committee have accused Democrats of failing to do their part in the debt ceiling negotiations and wasting valuable time.

Democrats have countered by saying that Republicans have substituted responsible governance for reckless threats that have unnecessarily worried the American people about a default.

The debt ceiling was raised three times under former President Donald Trump, who grew the deficit by some $8tn.

“When there’s a Republican in the White House, their concerns about the debt and deficit go away,” witness Brendan Boyle tells the committee.

Image source, Reuters

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Back in the committee meeting, Brendan Boyle, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, testifies that the last time Republicans threatened a default in 2011 marked “a milestone”.

Those negotiations led to the country’s first ever credit downgrade, he says, and a government watchdog even said it increased borrowing costs.

“It ended up increasing our national debt,” Boyle says. “And it set a dangerous precedent.”

He warned that playing with the threat of default risked the US’s future as the world’s reserve currency.

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

At the moment, rank-and-file members of the US Congress appear willing to fall in line.

Ideological purists on both sides, however, are already expressing their displeasure.

Today’s events will give a strong indication of whether opposition to the deal will be strong enough to prevail.

For Republicans, the discontent is primarily centred around the House Freedom Caucus, a group of about 45 hard-line conservatives.

They demanded larger budget cuts over a longer period than are contained in the agreement. They've also objected to the size of the debt-limit increase, which is predicted to allow the US to borrow the funds it needs to operate into 2025.

If they pledge to vote against the agreement as a block or threaten to withdraw their support for Kevin McCarthy as speaker, prompting another potentially drawn-out leadership election, that could jeopardise passage of the debt deal.

You can read more analysis here.

Image source, Reuters

Former Vice-President Mike Pence - who is expected to launch a presidential bid in the next few weeks - has slammed the deal reached by the White House and House Republican leaders.

"The American people deserve better," he said in a statement.

He said the deal "uses Washington smoke and mirror games to make small reforms while weakening our military at a time of increasing threats from foreign adversaries."

President Biden "and the Washington establishment", says Pence, are piling the debt burden "onto the backs of our grand-children".

Representative Lauren Boebert, a member of the conservative Republican group Freedom Caucus, was part of a fiery press conference earlier and made the group's position on the new deal very clear.

She said there had been a chance to restore "fiscal sanity" and get the country's "economy back on track" but "unfortunately, the bill we are considering tomorrow does none of these things".

Boebert told reporters the deal handed President Joe Biden a "blank cheque, because it doesn't actually set a debt limit".

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Democrats who’ve spoken so far at this hearing have been unanimous: “This is a manufactured crisis”.

Mary Gay Scanlon, a Pennsylvania Democrat, opens her remarks by saying: “This isnt legislating. It’s hostage-taking.”

Scanlon slams her Republican colleagues for threatening a “global economic meltdown” if they don’t get their way and looks across the room at members she says are there to make good on their threats.

No one makes eye contact with her.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

By its nature, the Rules Committee is not as contentious as other congressional committees often get.

Its members are fairly low-key and appear friendly with each other, but their words touch on the tension in the room.

The top-ranking Democrat, Jim McGovern, introduced by his Republican colleague Tom Cole as his "very good friend", complains that the other side has proven it is "unfit to govern".

And the first Republican witness, sitting shoulder to shoulder with his Democratic counterpart, rails against the other side for its "spending binge".

Lawmakers from both parties are conceding they have not gotten everything they wanted. This hearing may be a final chance to convince those on the fence that the deal that was struck is a good one.

Thomas Massie, who has re-entered the room, has been tapping away intently at his phone since taking his seat.

We’re going to step away from the White House press briefing now.

The White House is pressing how imperative it is for Congress to pass the debt ceiling bill, but say that it is with Republicans now to find the votes.

The House Rules Committee are now debating the proposed amendments to the bill before sending it to the House floor for a vote tomorrow.

You can stream live at the top of the page.

Director Shalanda Young, of the Office of Management and Budget, steps up to the mic and jokes about how gruelling it has been to reach this deal, saying she looks forward to seeing her children again soon and finding some clean clothes.

After giving some brief remarks, she starts taking questions and is asked if she has an idea of how many votes Republicans will provide in the House.

Young says: “This is a fun day over there. There’s a lot of meetings, a lot of energy. But we’re going to leave that to them, to work out the votes and how they get there.”

“What you don’t do is call members of Congress and tell them what to do,” she says.

She said that her office and the White House were there to answer questions about the deal.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre opened the briefing by explaining why defaulting on the national debt is not an option.

She says the economic stakes of a default are a recession, the loss of millions of jobs, devastated retirement accounts and higher borrowing costs.

Jean-Pierre goes on to say that it’s up to the House and Senate now, adding that they must pass the bill swiftly so President Biden can sign it into law.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Meanwhile just down the road at the US Capitol...

Most of the 13-member House Rules Committee - made up of nine Republicans and four Democrats - have now entered the small chamber.

But Thomas Massie and Chip Roy, two right-wing Republicans whose votes in this room will be closely watched tonight, are not here yet.

Massie briefly entered and left.

About 50 people are packed into this hearing room in the corner of the Capitol.

Before members vote, they will first hear from colleagues on the Budget and Ways & Means Committees, as well as those offering amendments to the bill as currently proposed.

There are currently 54 amendments proposed to the debt ceiling bill, according to CBS News, our partner in the US.

Before we turn to the House committee meeting, we're hearing the daily White House press briefing with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Shalanda Young, who leads the Office of Management and Budget. You can stream live at the top of the page.

We're expecting to hear about the US debt ceiling deal during this press conference, so stay with us as we bring you what the White House has to say.

Natalie Sherman
US business reporter

From the beginning, financial analysts have viewed the US defaulting on its debt as a remote possibility – a scenario so dire, and avoidable, as to seem nearly inconceivable.

That’s helped limit market losses, while negotiations went down to the wire.

The big three stock indexes – the Dow Jones, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq – have been roughly flat this month – and remained so on Tuesday.

Some pockets of worry did emerge.

In particular, investors started demanding higher rates to hold certain short term US government bonds, which could be most at risk in a default.

But those rates receded a bit after the deal was announced this weekend.

Removing this uncertainty could provide some relief.

But many investors remain focused on other issues dogging the economy: inflation, the highest interest rates in 16 years, and a potential economic recession.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

I'm on Capitol Hill about to head to the House Rules Committee meeting - the first major test for the deal brokered by Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Democrat Joe Biden.

McCarthy was mobbed a few moments ago by reporters and curious tourists as he walked out of his office.

The speaker was expressing confidence that he has the votes to get the debt ceiling deal over the line.

But some of his Republican members - including those aligned with the right-wing House Freedom Caucus - have already indicated they will not vote for his bill.

McCarthy says he is “not sure what's in this bill they’re so concerned about”.

This is where things stand:

• After weeks of bitter talks, Democrats and Republicans have agreed a deal allowing the US to borrow more money to pay its bills - and avoid a financial crisis
• The US is edging closer to its “debt ceiling”, the maximum amount of money it can borrow. If this debt limit isn’t raised by 5 June, the government will run out of money and default on its debt, which would be a historic first and have a catastrophic effect on global markets
• President Joe Biden has called the deal a “compromise”, since it was far from what he originally hoped for. It must now be voted on and passed by Congress
• The first vote is in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, and then the Senate will vote
• A deal has been brokered but it is not a slam dunk as some diehards from both parties don’t like it
• Some Republicans wanted more cuts to government spending and some Democrats do not want their plans watered down - so they may vote no
• Tonight, we are watching the House Rules Committee as they vote to send it to the House floor for consideration - this is the first major test