logo
episode-header-image
May 2023
19m 29s

Playing chicken with the debt ceiling

THE WASHINGTON POST
About this episode


Congress and President Biden have five weeks to strike a deal on raising the debt ceiling, according to a new projection from the Treasury Department. Otherwise, the country will need to brace for an economic catastrophe. The problem? Neither side is willing to compromise. 


President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have agreed to meet next week, but both have also insisted they are unwilling to negotiate, stoking fears that the government may miss this critical deadline. 


Tony Romm joins “Post Reports” to explain. 


Read more:



Up next
Aug 23
Deep Reads: A last lifeline in ‘detention alley’
Christopher Kinnison, 46, worked at his own one-man law firm in the central Louisiana city of Alexandria, putting him within a two-hour drive of the state’s nine ICE facilities, the highest number of any state other than Texas. Most of his clients were detainees, and his business ... Show More
30m 6s
Aug 22
Trump's peacemaking dreams and D.C. pizza party
This week, President Donald Trump claimed he’s ended six — or maybe even seven — wars. But his efforts to bring about peace in Ukraine, three years after Russia’s invasion, appear stalled.Guest host Cleve Wootson speaks with White House reporter Cat Zakrzewski and White House cor ... Show More
28m 59s
Aug 21
The Texas-California showdown over redistricting
With a vote of 88 ayes and 52 nays, the Texas House passed a controversial new election map on Wednesday night. If approved in the state Senate, the redrawn lines would create five new congressional districts that lean heavily red.The Texas House vote comes a few weeks after Texa ... Show More
26m 9s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2023
What will it cost Dems to raise the debt ceiling?
The Biden administration and House Republicans are already in a potentially months-long standoff over raising the national debt ceiling.  The Treasury Department started to enact “extraordinary measures” this week in order to keep paying the federal government’s bills after hitti ... Show More
50m 28s
May 2023
Kevin McCarthy’s Debt Ceiling Dilemma
Last week, Speaker Kevin McCarthy persuaded Republicans to narrowly pass a bill to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, setting up high-stakes negotiations with the Biden administration.Catie Edmondson, who covers Congress for The New York Times, explains the risks this might pose to his ... Show More
21m 59s
May 2023
Biden’s Radical Option to End the Debt Fight
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 ... Show More
25m 7s
May 2023
Biden and McCarthy ‘closer to deal’ on debt ceiling
President Biden has said that he should know by the end of Friday whether there is a deal with Republicans to raise the government debt ceiling, so it can continue to pay its bills. Mr Biden said things were looking good and he thought negotiators were very close to a deal. The t ... Show More
54m 13s
Mar 2023
The debt ceiling drama
You’ve probably heard by now that President Joe Biden released his 2024 budget proposal. You’ve also probably heard that it has almost no chance of passing through both chambers of Congress. What is likely to come to pass is more drama over a recurring problem: the fight over the ... Show More
44m 24s
May 2023
Biden and McCarthy ‘closer to deal’ on debt ceiling
The US House Speaker says there's been progress in the talks about a deal to raise the government debt limit for two years, and that negotiations with the White House will continue. Kevin McCarthy said the work would carry on until an agreement was reached - but he added this was ... Show More
27m 37s
Apr 2023
McCarthy Takes on Biden Over Debt Ceiling
Congress and the Biden administration are once again at loggerheads over a potential debt ceiling crisis – and the possibility of defaulting on its debt for the first time in the United States’ history. CNN Political Director David Chalian breaks down Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s spe ... Show More
9m 40s
May 2023
Unraveling America's Dance With a Debt-Ceiling Disaster
The US debt ceiling is all anyone in Washington (and increasingly elsewhere) can talk about these days. For months, politicians have been in a stalemate triggered by Republican demands for spending cuts as the price for paying America's debts. With next week seen as the point at ... Show More
34m 38s
May 2023
On the Debt Ceiling, the White House Is Doing What It Said It Wouldn't Do
In 2011, then-Vice President Biden had a front row seat to a bruising debt ceiling standoff between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner. That fight arguably derailed the Obama presidency and the nascent economic recovery. After that experience, Biden and his tea ... Show More
43m 49s