Kevin McCarthy basks in rare win after Republicans unite to pass debt ceiling plan – as it happened

The speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP

9.00pm BST

Closing summary

House Republicans have succeeded in passing their proposal to both raise the debt limit and cut government spending, but the fundamental realities in Washington have not changed: Democrats and Joe Biden refuse to support the bill and insist the GOP increase the ceiling without preconditions. A potential June default looms if an agreement is not reached before then.

Here’s what else happened today:

• Montana Republicans voted to bar the state’s sole transgender lawmaker, Democrat Zooey Zephyr, from the House chamber, so she’s doing her work outside its doors.

• Senate Democrats seem divided over whether to subpoena supreme court chief justice John Roberts after he declined to testify about the court’s ethics.

• Washington announced new measures to stem an expected flow of migrants to the southern border, including the opening of new immigration centers in Colombia and Guatemala.

• Donald Trump’s campaign hired a second company to prove his allegations of fraud in the 2020 election, without success. The firm’s founder has since been interviewed by federal prosecutors.

• More polls confirmed what we already know: Trump remains top among Republicans, and Biden the leader among Democrats.

8.47pm BST

The trial of advice columnist E Jean Carroll’s civil lawsuit alleging rape by Donald Trump continues in New York City this afternoon, with more cross examination from the former president’s lawyer Joe Tacopina.

Politico reported an intense exchange between Carroll and Tacopina, who demanded details about the claimed sexual assault:

Riveting moment between E. Jean Carroll & Trump lawyer Tacopina in court just now, when Tacopina pushed her repeatedly on why she says she didn't scream when Trump was allegedly raping her.

Carroll: "I’m not a screamer. You can’t beat up on me for not screaming."

— erica orden (@eorden) April 27, 2023

Tacopina: "I’m not beating up on you, I’m asking you questions."
Carroll: "Women don’t come forward. One of the reasons they don't come forward is because they’re always asked, Why didn't you scream?" She raised her voice: "I’m telling you: He raped me whether I screamed or not."

— erica orden (@eorden) April 27, 2023

"Do you need a minute, Ms. Carroll?" Tacopina asked.

"No, go right on," she said. "I don’t need an excuse for not screaming."

— erica orden (@eorden) April 27, 2023