Umm...you do know that's exactly what happened, don't you?
No it didn't. The administration put together an "extra-legal" deal to restructure GM without resorting to bankruptcy. Extra legal because although bankruptcy law is... law, the restructuring deal short circuited bankruptcy court, which the administration wanted to avoid since a bankruptcy judge could have thrown out all of the union contracts. They did a lot of hinky stuff with that deal. The law can be so bothersome sometimes!
