Ahead of Nov. 5, many Republicans said they would want to secure reductions in federal spending in exchange for voting to raise the debt limit, now at $18.1 trillion. Treasury has used emergency measures to avoid breaching the debt cap since mid-March.

“For the debt-ceiling increase to get a sizable number of Republican votes, it will require spending reductions,” said Rep. Luke Messer (R., Ind.), a member of House GOP leadership.

But lawmakers said it would be very difficult to reach a long-term budget agreement in the next month. Congress this past week passed a stopgap spending bill that expires Dec. 11, but Republicans and Democrats remain at odds over whether to set funding levels above limits established in a 2011 deficit-reduction deal…

“There’s going to be a bipartisan group that raises the debt ceiling is my guess,” said Rep. Bob Dold (R., Ill.), who said he wanted to see an agreement cut “wasteful Washington spending.”