House Republicans have a problem. They have trapped themselves in a no man’s land of political hostage taking. The GOP leadership has basically admitted they can’t really play chicken with the debt limit again, but at the same time many in the rank and file refuse to give up on the idea that voting on [...]

The rather painless vote on a no strings attached temporary increase in the debt limit back in January and the easy passage of a continuing resolution this week made it seem as if the age of manufactured budget crises might finally be over. But apparently Speaker John Boehner is not ready to give up on [...]

Now that the House has passed the three month suspense of the debt limit, it is safe to say President Obama won this standoff. The original Republican position was that any debt limit increase had to be accompanied by spending cuts. Obama said he would not negotiate this time and wanted a debt limit increase [...]

When House Republicans decided to fold on the debt limit they concluded that they need something to help them save face. What they wanted was to adopt a requirement that Congress must approve a non-binding budget or risk losing their pay. The problem is that such a provision would have clearly violated the 27th Amendment [...]

President Obama will reluctantly accept the House Republicans plan to increase the debt limit for only three months according to a new statement of administration policy. The Administration supports a long-term increase in the debt limit that would increase certainty and economic stability.  Although H.R. 325 is a short-term measure and introduces unnecessary complications, needlessly [...]

The House Republicans will vote on their bill to increase the debt limit on Wednesday according to the AP. The bill can currently be viewed on the House Committee on Rules website and they will hold their hearing on it tomorrow.

House Republicans are about to fold on the debt limit. They are no longer going to demand that any increase in the limit be matched with spending cuts. But because nothing in Congress can be simple and easy, the House Republicans are going to wrap up the debt ceiling in a convoluted face saving measure. [...]

It would seem the Obama administration is hinting that they will (or at least want the market to think they will) prioritize bondholders over everyone else if the debt limit is reached. In order to increase the pressure on House Republicans over the debt ceiling, the Obama administration has begun very publicly talking about all [...]

If the debt limit is not lifted the President could theoretically be forced to break some laws. Congress would have required the President to give money to people while also denying the President any legal way to get that money. Faced with this logical inconsistency of the laws, the question becomes which laws will Obama [...]

Obama doesn’t want to get around the debt ceiling, he wants to beat the Republicans on it. Obama seems to believe he can win at a game of chicken, despite his rather abysmal track record so far.