WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans have engineered the defeat of their own proposed $2.4 trillion increase in the debt limit, a political gambit designed to reinforce a demand for spending cuts to accompany any future increase in government borrowing.
The vote Tuesday was 97-318, far below the two-thirds majority needed for passage.
Republicans signaled well in advance that the debt limit vote was political theater and did not portend a final refusal to grant an increase.
Democrats criticized the GOP for playing political games with the nation’s credit rating.
Wall Street appeared to pay little if any attention. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed ahead 128 points for the day.
