Senate Republicans prioritize other issues over raising US debt ceiling.

A group of 43 Republicans in the US Senate oppose voting on a bill that only raises the US debt ceiling without tackling other priorities, in a letter to Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, showing they could block such a plan by Democrats. The Republicans said "substantive spending and budget reforms" need to be "a starting point" for negotiations. The political standoff has raised concerns over a default that could reverberate across global financial markets.