In the end, the measure cleared rather easily, 67-31. The vote on final passage was 55-43. The legislation suspends the debt ceiling through March 15, 2015.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) voted to break a potential filibuster on the bill, leading to final passage. Ten other Republicans ended up joining them.

The Senate vote started at 1:56 p.m. ET. More than 40 minutes later, only three Republicans had supported the legislation. It needed 60 "aye" votes to advance to a final vote. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) tweeted her frustration during the vote: