He told a Congressional committee that the primary burden rests with governors and mayors to bring their deficits down. But he added that in order to turn around the economy, “there are things that we’ve had to do I would never have contemplated doing.”

It’s a “difficult, complicated balance,” he said. Geithner pledged to work with Congress to explore ways to help California. But some Congressional Republicans, including some from California, opposed any federal intervention role Wednesday, posing a political challenge to the Obama administration should it decide to step in.

In an interview today, David Axelrod, a senior advisor to President Obama, voiced concerns that if the federal government steps in and provides special assistance to California to help ease the financial crunch, it could open the door to other struggling states wanting federal help.