Washington’s ability to avert a catastrophic U.S. debt default risks coming down to as few as seven days in May, underscoring the enormous threat of the partisan impasse.
Between now and June 1 — the date by which the Treasury Department could run out of sufficient cash — U.S. President Joe Biden and members of the House and Senate are scheduled to be in town at the same time for the sum total of one week.
Lawmakers could cancel long-planned Memorial Day recesses, and Biden could forgo a trip to Japan to attend the Group of Seven summit. But even so, time is short and it’s unlikely the two parties will strike a grand bargain before the potential X-date advised by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday — raising the likelihood of a short-term fix.