Returning the ailing public finance bond insurance market to health has been a priority of state insurance regulators, led by New York state's Eric Dinallo, whose office took credit Wednesday for splitting MBIA in two.
It is not clear what the legal priority is among the Treasury's obligations, whether contractual such as bond debt or statutory such as social security.
He has stated that the terms of Ecuador's bond restructuring following the 1999 default were too favourable to bondholders and has hinted that social spending will take priority over debt servicing.