The president could follow a theory of the Constitution that is effectively a constitutional challenge to the existence of the debt limit itself. It's rooted in the 14th Amendment, which effectively says the government has to pay its debts. But inside the Obama White House, I have talked to my lawyers and they are not persuaded that that is a winning argument. They never really seriously considered this. Even former president Bill Clinton said that he would have invoked it if he was still president.
In a high-stakes showdown this week, President Biden and the leaders of congress met face to face in an effort to avoid the United States defaulting on its debt for the first time in history.
Jim Tankersley, a White House correspondent for The Times, explains how close the country is to financial calamity, and the radical step Biden might take to avoid it.
Guest: Jim Tankersley, a White House correspondent for The New York Times.
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