The White House and Congress are battling over raising the nation’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling. If they don’t act and the US defaults on its debt this summer, the economic shockwaves will be felt across the nation and around the world. Even so, the conventional wisdom in many parts of Washington and Wall Street seems to be: don’t worry, in the end of course they’ll reach a deal.

But relying on conventional wisdom is often…unreliable. Though congressional leaders managed to overcome their differences and raise the debt ceiling in the past–often at the 11th hour, after all the brinkmanship had played out–what if this time is different? 

Bloomberg journalists Liz McCormick and Erik Wasson join this episode to game out the scenarios and gauge how concerned we should be about the possibility that the rancor and acrimony in Washington will lead to a debt default for the first time in US history.

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