China and Russia poised to exploit U.S. debt default, warns intel chief.

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines warned that Russia and China would use the U.S. potentially defaulting on its debt to highlight "the chaos within the United States, that we're not capable of functioning as a democracy." The Treasury Department says the U.S. could default as early as June 1. Haines added that a default would create global uncertainty about the value of the U.S. dollar and U.S. institutions and leadership, leading to volatility in currency and financial markets and commodity markets that are priced in dollars. The debt ceiling, which was first put in place by Congress during World War I, is the limit on the amount of money the federal government can borrow to pay for defense expenditures as well as mandatory programs, such as social security and Medicaid.