The U.S. Senate voted to pass legislation that would expedite the process for passing a bill to raise the federal government’s $28.9 trillion debt limit, to avert a U.S. default. The vote for the measure was 59-35, with 10 Republicans joining Democrats in favor of the bill. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was among those in favor. Prior to that, 14 Republicans sided with Democrats to end debate to advance the bill. The legislation would enable the Senate to pass a second, separate bill to increase the debt ceiling by a specific amount with a simple majority, instead of needing 60 votes in the 100-member chamber to overcome a filibuster. Democrats would be able to use their majority pass the debt ceiling increase without support from Republicans. The provision to enable the simple majority vote was combined on Tuesday with an unrelated provision that would prevent Medicare payment cuts to health …