The Debt Ceiling Showdown, Explained

The Daily

23-01-2023 • 28 mins

In the past decade or more, votes over increasing the U.S. debt ceiling have increasingly been used as a political tool. That has led to intense showdowns in 2011, 2013 and, now, 2023.

This year, both sides of the argument are dug in and Republicans appear more willing to go over the cliff than in the past.

What does this year’s showdown look like and how, exactly, did the United States’ debt balloon to $31 trillion?

Guest: Jim Tankersley, a White House correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading:

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

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