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 It earned him the wrath of his party's vocal and influential right
wing, and it could have implications for the Senate minority
leader's re-election campaign in Kentucky.
The vote, in which he was joined by 11 other Republican senators,
came as McConnell is trying to appeal to conservative voters in
Kentucky to fend off a primary challenge from Matt Bevin, a Tea
Party-aligned Republican. And it was a sign of defiance against
influential outside groups trying to push him further to the
political right less than half a year after a government shutdown
and the last debt ceiling fight.
"This vote couldn't have come at a worse time for Mitch McConnell,"
said Republican strategist Ford O'Connell, who advised Republican
John McCain's 2008 presidential bid. O'Connell noted that the
campaign ahead of the May 20 Kentucky Senate primary was moving into
high gear.
The legislation to extend the U.S. federal borrowing authority for a
year now goes to the desk of President Barack Obama for approval.
Debt limit increases have been a source of major partisan battles
since 2011, and Wednesday's vote was seen as a victory for
Democrats.
But McConnell, a 29-year veteran of the Senate who has been closely
involved with negotiating agreements to end similar standoffs in the
past, stepped forward to ensure the measure's passage.
Allies to Tea Party challenger Bevin staunchly oppose raising the
debt ceiling, saying Republicans should demand deficit reduction as
a condition for any increase in the Obama administration's borrowing
authority.
"I wish I could say I am surprised that Mitch McConnell voted to
hand President Obama another blank check," said Bevin in a statement
after the vote.
"But sadly, I am not, because this is more of the same from a career
politician who has voted for bigger government, multiple bailouts,
and now 11 debt ceiling increases."
McConnell leads Bevin in early polling, but if he wins, he could
face a tougher race against Alison Lundergan Grimes, Kentucky's
Democratic secretary of state. McConnell is trailing Grimes slightly
in preliminary polls.
To win the primary, McConnell must continue to court voters on the
right without alienating the moderate Republican and independent
voters he will need to win the general election.
MOBILIZING AGAINST McCONNELL
Still, independent political groups like the Senate Conservatives
Fund are mobilizing supporters to ensure he does not even get past
the primary.
"They want Mitch McConnell out of there, but his standing looks
pretty good. His biggest worry is Grimes, and this vote doesn't hurt
him against her," O'Connell said.
Seconds after McConnell voted to end debate on the debt limit vote,
the Senate Conservatives Fund tweeted: "Mitch McConnell just voted
with the Democrats to advance yet another debt limit increase.
Kentucky deserves better."
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While Republican leaders are confident they can retake the Senate by
winning six seats from vulnerable Democrats in November, right-wing
insurgents aligned with the Tea Party, such as Bevin, are
complicating their efforts by challenging Senate veterans.
As the drama played out over the procedural vote on the debt limit,
McConnell's Senate Republican colleagues lent him some crucial
support. The No. 2 Senate Republican, John Cornyn of Texas, who is
also facing a primary challenge from the right, also voted in favor
of allowing the debt limit measure to advance.
Other Republican senators who voted with McConnell included Senator
McCain of Arizona and Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, both of whom
are known as dealmakers in the Senate.
But the move highlighted tensions between McConnell and his
prominent conservative colleagues.
Kentucky's other senator, Tea Party favorite Rand Paul, voted "no"
on the procedural legislation on the debt limit.
McConnell owed his predicament on Wednesday to Texas Senator Ted
Cruz, a main player in the government shutdown in October and, like
Paul, a possible 2016 presidential contender.
Cruz had threatened to block the procedural vote on the debt ceiling
increase unless it received at least 60 votes, which meant at least
a handful of Republican votes were necessary to ensure its passage.
In the end, the measure passed 67-31. The senators then approved
increasing the debt ceiling by a 55-43 vote, and rushed to catch
flights out of Washington before a major winter storm was due to hit
the city.
"We can't keep going the path that we're on," Cruz said after the
vote. "We're bankrupting the country. It's irresponsible to our
kids, it's irresponsible to our grandkids."
(Additional reporting by David Lawder, Richard Cowan, Thomas Ferraro
and Susan Cornwell; editing by Caren Bohan and Mohammad Zargham)
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