Biden enlists bank CEOs, AARP in push to raise debt ceiling 12 days

President Joe Biden will on Wednesday escalate his call for Congress to address the debt ceiling in a meeting with some of Wall Street’s top CEOs and stress that delaying an increase to the borrowing limit risks a first-ever U.S. default and near certain economic calamity.

Nine CEOs are expected to attend, including JPMorgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon, Intel exec Pat Gelsinger, Nasdaq chief Adena Friedman and Raytheon leader Greg Hayes. AARP chief Jo Ann Jenkins, Citi CEO Jane Fraser and Deloitte exec Punit Renjen are also on the guest list.

Biden will be joined by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and White House senior advisor Cedric Richmond.

The group will discuss the “urgent need for Congress to take immediate bipartisan action to address the debt limit and avoid default on the U.S. government’s financial obligations and the economic catastrophe that would follow,” according to a White House statement. The president will also pin blame for the drama on Republicans’ obstruction of a generally routine legislative process.

The White House meeting, which will include a mix of virtual and in-person attendees, marks a new level of urgency in the administration’s efforts to avoid what economists see as guaranteed economic turmoil. Congress has only 12 days — until October 18 — to suspend or lift the debt limit before the U.S. defaults on its debt for the first time ever, according to Treasury Department estimates.

Yellen and other economists say a failure to pay even one interest payment could spark a dramatic rise in interest rates across the country, weaken the U.S. dollar and threaten the greenback’s status as the globe’s reserve currency.

“Financial markets would lose faith in the United States, the dollar would weaken, and stocks would fall,” the White House Council of Economic Advisers wrote Wednesday, adding that the U.S. credit rating would almost certainly be downgraded and interest rates would rise for many consumer loans, including for autos and mortgages.

“These and other consequences could trigger a recession and a credit market freeze that could hurt the ability of American companies to operate,” the council wrote.

Default could also delay Social Security checks to some 50 million older adults and postpone income to members of the U.S. armed services.

Yellen told CNBC on Tuesday that she would “fully expect” a default to lead to a recession. Raising or suspending the debt limit allows the Treasury Department to resume its regular payments to U.S. bondholders for spending lawmakers have already authorized.

JPMorgan Chase said Dimon was expected to offer his thoughts during the meeting, but didn’t provide more detail. Representatives for Citi’s Fraser, Intel’s Gelsinger and AARP’s Jenkins did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for…