“We had a good discussion about several different issues that are all extent here as we move toward the end of the session, and we agreed to keep talking and working together,” McConnell said after meeting with Schumer.

The talks between the majority and minority leaders come as the Treasury Department projects that the U.S. government can stave off a debt default until Dec. 15. While some independent estimates suggest the so-called X-date could be some time between mid-December and early February, the discussions highlight a new sense of urgency to avoid an economic crisis…

Many Senate Democrats have long opposed using reconciliation, arguing that it would set a problematic precedent to address the debt limit along party lines and that the process would be too time consuming. Plus, they say, much of the debt was incurred under former President Donald Trump. Republicans, however, cite Biden’s forthcoming $1.75 trillion social spending bill as one major reason Democrats need to suspend the debt limit on their own.