No debt limit deal has been reached as Treasury's Dec. 15 deadline approaches

A deal to extend the nation's debt limit has yet to be reached as the Treasury Department's estimated deadline of Dec. 15 approaches.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer would need votes from GOP senators for a clean debt ceiling increase without any other measures attached.

"We frequently have drama associated with this decision, but I can assure you, the country will never default," McConnell said on Thursday evening during the Wall Street Journal's CEO Council event.

The Democrat-led House passed a procedural bill on Tuesday evening that would allow a debt limit increase to pass in the Senate with a simple majority of 51 votes. The bill heads to the Senate and would need 10 votes from Republicans to pass in the split 50-50 chamber.

Democratic leaders could pursue raising the debt ceiling through budget reconciliation as part of their Build Back Better Act, which hasn't passed the Senate yet. 

Schumer has set a Christmas deadline for that spending bill, but he might not have all 50 Senate Democratic Caucus members on board with passing it, particularly Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. 

The budget reconciliation bill is able to pass with a simple majority of 50 Democratic Caucus members (48 Democrats and two independents) plus Vice President Kamala Harris. The legislation recently passed the House, but it hasn't been voted on in the Senate.

During the last debt ceiling fight, the Treasury Department estimated it needed to pass before Oct. 18. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell ultimately reached a deal with Schumer on a $480 billion short-term debt limit increase and agreed not to use the legislative filibuster to block the bill.

McConnell emphasized that the GOP would not supply the votes for a further increase to the debt limit as Democrats prepared to pass the nearly $2 trillion reconciliation bill that contains much of Biden's social and climate agenda.

"This will moot Democrats' excuses about the time crunch they created and give the unified Democratic government more than enough time to pass standalone debt limit legislation through reconciliation," McConnell said.