Debt ceiling stalemate continues as Democrats push for repeal and experts weigh in.

The US is 14 days away from running out of money to pay its bills due to the debt ceiling, which Democrats have long tried to repeal or rethink, but have encountered steep resistance. Republicans are using the debate as an avenue to push for massive spending cuts. The government has already reached the current debt limit of about $31.4 trillion, but it has relied on special, temporary accounting maneuvers to delay the need to borrow more. A failure to act could cause the first-ever federal default, a fiscal calamity that might unleash untold hardship.