President Biden said Tuesday that he is looking at the 14th Amendment as a way to unilaterally work around the debt limit, although he acknowledged that it would be a viable option with the nation in default by June without congressional action. Will not be a short term solution.
“I’m looking at the 14th Amendment, and I have a lot of respect for Larry Tribe … thinks it will be legal,” Biden told reporters after a meeting with congressional leaders on the debt limit .
“But the problem is that it would have to be litigated,” Biden continued. “And in the meantime, without any expansion, it will still end up in the same place.”
Biden said that once the White House and lawmakers tackle the task of raising the debt ceiling, he plans to see whether the court will rule that the 14th Amendment allows the president to issue debt.
However, McCarthy poured cold water on the idea.
“Really think about it, if you’re the leader, if you’re the sole president and you’re going to see something like the 14th Amendment — I think you’re failing to work with the people on the other side of the aisle, or something working with his party to do that,” he said at the Capitol.
Talk about whether or not the debt limit is constitutional under the 14th Amendment — which generally deals with citizenship and was added to the Constitution after the Civil War — has heated up inside the Beltway as concerns America is on the verge of default. Can increase from
This idea rests on a phrase in the 14th Amendment which states that the public debt “shall not be called in question.”
But some Biden administration officials have been extremely reluctant to embrace the idea, pointing to the potential legal and economic consequences.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on ABC on Sunday, “Congress is doing its job and raising the debt ceiling and there is no other way to protect our financial system and our economy than to enable us to pay our bills.” Is.” “And we shouldn’t get to the point where we need to consider whether the president can issue debt. That would be a constitutional crisis.”
Yellen would not say explicitly that the idea was not being considered, but described it as “one of the good options” if Congress fails to act.
The tribe, the Harvard law professor Biden invoked Tuesday, previously opposed the idea, but he said that, while overarching issues remain, “they are wrong in what they are asking of us.”
“The real question is whether Congress – after passing the spending bills that create these loans – can arbitrarily impose dollar limits to force the President and his administration to do their bidding,” he said. I wrote in an op-ed. new York Times.
Yellen has warned lawmakers that the US could breach the debt ceiling as early as June, meaning the country could default if Congress does not act. A default would lead to increased interest rates, possible loss of jobs, a possible decline in the stock market and delayed Social Security payments, among other consequences.
Biden met with congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday, although the sides did not appear to be making meaningful progress toward avoiding default.
Emily Brooks contributed. Updated at 8:18 pm
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