I spoke to NBC News‘ Sahil Kapur about the various scenarios that may play out as Congress and the White House seek to resolve the debt limit impasse.

PATH #3: Tie debt limit to government funding

Some congressional aides believe the way out is to attach a debt limit extension to a bipartisan government funding bill, which is due by Sept. 30 to prevent a shutdown.

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“The key to that would be opening up budget negotiations that Republicans will see as a victory in and of itself, while Biden can maintain his debt limit stance,” Republican strategist and lobbyist Liam Donovan said. “It may be prudent to pass a short-term debt limit increase to put more time on the clock, show good faith and sync the deadline up with that of government funding. Short of that sort of orderly engagement, it will take coming right up to the edge to determine who blinks.”

Read the full piece here.

I spoke to Bloomberg’s Josh Green about the debt limit fight, public opinion, and the political implications of potential executive action to avoid default.

In Washington, insiders have started taking the idea semi-seriously. “I think it’s not gotten enough attention,” says Liam Donovan, a Republican lobbyist and debt-ceiling expert. “If you look at the White House position, they kind of have to be prepared to act unilaterally or they’re setting themselves up to look pretty foolish. It’s a ‘break glass in case of emergency’ answer.”

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Still, there’s an argument that Biden just minting the coin and taking heat for it would be the best outcome for everyone—including Republicans, who can’t even agree on a ransom demand. “If Biden were willing to take the debt limit off their plate and spare them from taking a painful vote (and/or a humiliating L), that’s just as well,” Donovan says. “Unilateral action by the administration also puts them back in their comfort zone, where they can push back on the White House’s fiscal recklessness and constitutional overreach, a small political price for Biden if it ends the charade once and for all.” Criticizing Biden is the Republicans’ safe space. Minting the coin would also let future Republican presidents off the hook since, like the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz, killing off the debt limit would rid the country of its decades-long reign of terror.

Read the full piece here.

As I told Josh and laid out in my debt limit explainer, I don’t believe minting the coin would be the preferred option of the administration, but unilateral action is a key variable that has not received nearly enough attention. Indeed, Biden’s appetite for confrontation with Republicans likely hinges on his willingness to pursue such a go-it-alone strategy, even as a last resort.

I spoke to Catie Edmondson for her New York Times piece on the similarities and striking differences between the House GOP bargaining position during the 2011 debt limit standoff and today.

In 2011, House Republican leaders were so resolute in their demand that President Barack Obama accept deep spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling that they put a clean debt limit increase on the House floor just to unanimously vote it down. Few Republicans now would relish taking that vote.

“Part of the reason they’ve softened some of the edges — is it’s a different time, it’s a different moment,” said Liam Donovan, a veteran Republican strategist. “There was an acknowledgment coming out of 2010 that Obama was going to have to yield, that there was a referendum toward curbing spending. That is not only not present here, but if anything, there is disagreement even within Republican ranks as to whether that’s prudent.”

Read the full piece here.

I spoke to Maggie Haberman for her New York Times piece on the generous curve Republican voters grade Donald Trump on, and the double standard that applies to conventional politicians, most recently Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“He has never adhered to the unwritten rules of electoral politics, and he has cemented his MAGA brand by openly flouting them,” said Liam Donovan, a Republican strategist. “In 2016, Trump was exempt from the punitive standards we hold conventional politicians to, and what’s remarkable is that seven years and a presidential term later, that still holds true.”

Voters, Mr. Donovan said, see Mr. Trump “differently, and make exceptions, consciously or otherwise, for his statements and his behavior.”

Read the full piece here.

I spoke to Semafor staff for Steve Clemons’ Principals Newsletter in the wake of news of the Trump indictment:

Conservative pundits were near-unanimous in declaring the news a political boost for Trump — at least in the primary election — whose opponents are now finding themselves forced to rally around him as he battles what Republicans voters widely view as a politically motivated prosecution.

“This development helps address two of Trump’s biggest comeback deficiencies: inability to dominate the news cycle, and lack of a good political foil. Now he’s back in his sweet spot — the center of attention, stewing in grievance,” Liam Donovan, a Republican lobbyist, told Semafor.

Read the full item here.