Debt ceiling crisis sparks fear and warnings in Washington.

The Biden administration is wary of using unilateral measures to resolve the debt ceiling impasse without Congress, viewing them as risky choices that could cause lasting economic damage. While some legal experts have argued that the White House can ignore Congress and simply declare the borrowing limit to be incompatible with the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, administration officials fear that investors would demand much higher interest rates to buy government debt that the courts could throw out, since prospects for repayment would be unclear. The administration believes that Congress must act to raise the debt limit, believing this is the only sure way to avoid financial turmoil.