A number of key Democrats say that their party should take matters into its own hands and raise the national debt limit by itself once Republicans block their plans as expected in the Senate, underscoring the lack of options facing the White House and Democratic leaders in the face of stiff GOP resistance.

But going it alone would force Democrats to employ a time-consuming budget maneuver that would bog down both chambers — especially the Senate — and subject their members to a parade of politically charged votes with the national debt approaching $29 trillion.

And on Wednesday, the chairman of the House Budget Committee insisted that the procedural obstacles and time constraints would prevent the party from using the budget process to raise the debt ceiling in time to avoid a default, a bid aimed at pressuring top Republicans to agree to suspend the nation’s borrowing limit in a bipartisan vote.