A Debt Limit Secret Weapon

Democrats push debt limit plans

With the U.S. now projected to run out of money to pay its bills by June 1, Democrats in Washington are considering unconventional tactics to avert a devastating federal default.

In the House, Democrats began taking steps today to deploy a secret weapon they have been holding in reserve: a so-called discharge petition. The long-shot strategy, which would bring a debt-limit increase bill to the chamber’s floor without the endorsement of Republican leaders, would still require five Republicans to cross party lines — a daunting hurdle.

At the White House, some economic advisers are entertaining what is effectively a constitutional challenge to the debt limit. Under the theory, the 14th Amendment requires the government to continue issuing debt, even after hitting the borrowing limit. Previous administrations considered the move, but ultimately ruled it out.

The typical way to raise the debt limit — through Congress’s normal legislative process — is still the most likely path. President Biden is set to meet with Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other Congressional leaders next week, but he still publicly opposes Republican attempts to tie spending cuts to raising the debt ceiling.

While every debt limit fight in the past was resolved before disaster struck, that’s not a foregone conclusion this time, my colleague Jim Tankersley told me.

“A lot of people in the Biden administration and Congress see the dynamics now as fundamentally different than the past,” Jim said. “To some small but meaningfully degree, the risks of default are higher.”

For more: Here’s everything you need to know about the debt ceiling fight.

A strike shutters late night TV

Enjoy the extra sleep: “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and other shows will be forced to air reruns starting tonight and for the foreseeable future, after movie and TV writers called their first strike in 15 years.

The dispute over working conditions and pay in the streaming era pits 11,500 screenwriters against the major studios, like Universal and Paramount, and tech industry newcomers, like Netflix, Amazon and Apple.

Will your favorite show be affected? Here’s what to know.

Russian spies in plain sight

For years, Germany allowed a number of Russians to live and work in the country despite strong suspicions that they were spying. But now — after a series of flagrant intelligence operations and the Russian invasion of Ukraine — the snooping is harder to ignore.

Last month, Germany expelled a group of Russian diplomats from the country to reduce “the Russian intelligence presence in Germany,” the foreign ministry said. And members of Germany’s parliament are being told to stop using wireless devices that were easier to tap — and close their window blinds for sensitive meetings.

Biden sends troops to the border

President Biden is deploying 1,500 active-duty troops to the southern border with Mexico to guard against a potential influx of migrants seeking to take advantage of expiring Covid-era asylum restrictions.

The troops, which join 2,500 National Guard troops already there, will be armed for self-defense but won’t have a law enforcement role. They will mostly assist with transport, administrative and other duties free up border officials.

“Some Like It Hot,” a musical about two musicians who witness a gangland slaying and dress as women to escape the mob, scored the most nominations, at 13. But it faces stiff competition in the race for best new musical — ticket buyers have not made any of the contenders a slam-dunk.

Overall, my colleague Michael Paulson said, the nominations “suggest something we have already sensed, which is that there is no real consensus this season about one favorite show around which everyone is rallying.”

For more: Here’s the full list of nominees, as well as the biggest snubs and surprises. The ceremony will take place on June 11.

At nearly six minutes, it was about twice as long as most pop hits. Perhaps more unusual was the song’s content: It chronicled, with meticulous attention to detail, the deadly 1975 sinking of a freighter on Lake Superior.

Dinner table topics

Who will have the universe’s last thought?

At some point in the very, very distant future, the universe will expand to such vast distances that most matter and energy will disappear beyond the horizon, never to return. Well before then, scientists say, there will be one last sentient being, who has one final thought.

My colleague Dennis Overbye heard that statement for the first time recently, and it was “the saddest, loneliest idea I had ever contemplated,” he wrote. But rather than despair over the end of time, many physicists and astronomers argue that the notion is a relief: “The death of the future,” Dennis said, “frees them to concentrate on the magic of the moment.”

Have a ruminative evening.

Thanks for reading. — Matthew

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