After tens of thousands of dockworkers walked off the job at midnight, the Biden administration is confronting the complicated politics – and limited toolkit – of a work stoppage in the home stretch of a critical election season in which the economy has taken center stage.

As the strike keeps East Coast and Gulf Coast ports closed for a second day, the Biden administration increased pressure on port employers to reach a deal with the ILA.

The strike by the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) union has blocked goods from food to automobile shipments across dozens of ports from Maine to Texas, a disruption that analysts warn will cost the economy billions of dollars a day.

The International Longshoremen’s Association agreed to extend the contract until Jan. 15 and will start moving cargo again while they continue collective bargaining.

The union representing 45,000 striking US dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports has reached a deal to suspend a three-day strike until Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract. The union,

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill

The walkout threatened to plunge the holiday shopping season into turmoil and become an issue in next month's presidential election.