It's Wednesday, September 20th. I'm Gideon Resnick.

And I'm Josie Defi Rice, and this is What a Day. The podcast that will briefly be installed

as president in the case of a government shutdown.

Yeah, we apparently would form the interim government. Don't ask us why.

We're the founding fathers wrong about this particular thing. No, I don't think so.

This is this may be one of the favorite things they got right.

On today's show, Pentagon officials were in the congressional hot seat after the troop withdrawal

from Afghanistan. Plus, we are going to share some details from a Trump tell all book by his

former press secretary Stephanie Grisham so that you don't have to buy it.

But first, we want to update you on Congress, where this week lawmakers are continuing with

a big breath, a potential government shutdown a fight over raising the debt ceiling and trying to pass

both the infrastructure bill and the much broader social policy bill all at the same time.

They love procrastination just like me. And so this is what we know as of our recording yesterday

night. On Monday, Senator Republicans blocked a bill that would have funded the government and raised

the debt limit to in one go. That's basically the artificial ceiling on how much the government

can borrow to pay its bills. Right. And yesterday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Congress

it would be catastrophic if lawmakers didn't raise that ceiling.

America would default for the first time in history. The full faith and credit of the United

States would be impaired and our country would likely face a financial crisis and economic recession

is a result. And she added that if the US doesn't act by October 18th, then the default could happen.

Yeah, additionally, the House is supposed to vote on the long just sitting infrastructure package

tomorrow. And a number of progressive Democrats have held firm and saying that they're only going to

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