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President Biden is set to welcome Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other top congressional leaders to the White House on Tuesday for a pivotal round of discussions about the nation’s taxes, spending and debt as a potentially catastrophic government default rapidly approaches. The talks come just weeks before the United States is expected to run out of cash to pay its bills unless the nation’s borrowing cap is lifted. (5/8)

Top political figures are swirling the possibility that President Biden could use the powers of a clause in the 14th Amendment as a last-ditch effort to ward off the looming threat that the U.S. could default on its debt as soon as next month.  ... The amendment chiefly extended the Bill of Rights liberties to formerly enslaved people, but also includes a section saying “the validity of the public debt of the United States … shall not be questioned.” (Mueller, 5/7)

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen struck an increasingly troubled tone Sunday as President Joe Biden gears up to meet with congressional leadership Tuesday to discuss raising the debt ceiling.The negotiations “should not take place with a gun really to the head of the American people,” Yellen cautioned Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” With the June 1 “X-date” quickly approaching, Yellen called on Congress to raise the debt ceiling, warning of the economic disaster that will follow should the government fail to come to an agreement. Once that date hits, “really that’s it,” Yellen said on “This Week.” “We have been using extraordinary measures for several months now, and our ability to do that is running out.” (Garrity, 5/7)

Lawmakers will need to reach a bipartisan agreement to lift the debt limit. The longer it takes, the more turmoil there could be for the United States and the global economy. (Smialek and Wu, 5/8)

If the federal government breaches the debt ceiling, Medicare wouldn't be able to pay providers — and states wouldn't get their federal Medicaid funding, experts tell Axios. Losing out on those payments, even for a short time, could be disastrous for providers’ bottom lines — and the effects could trickle down to patients. (Goldman and Knight, 5/5)

Once we breach the debt ceiling, the federal government will not be able to pay its bills, or for things like Social Security checks, payroll for service members and other federal employees, and Medicare reimbursements. Interest payments on past debt could go unpaid, which would mean the US government would default on its debts. In 2011, the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department planned on prioritizing interest payments, acknowledging that they would miss payments of other things like Social Security checks, veterans’ benefits, etc. (Zhou and Matthews, 5/6)