On Tuesday, Joe Biden revealed he is considering using the 14th Amendment to bypass Congress and raise the debt ceiling unilaterally, while admitting that this is a short-term solution and that the United States is on track to default without Congressional action by June.
After meeting with congressional leaders about the debt ceiling, Biden told reporters, “I’ve been considering the 14th Amendment, and the guy I have tremendous respect for, Larry Tribe… thinks it would be legit.”
“The problem, though, is that it needs to be litigated,” Biden explained. In addition, “and in the meantime, without an extension, it would still end up in the same spot.”
Pushing boundaries
Biden said he plans to investigate whether the Supreme Court would rule that the 14th Amendment allows the president to continue issuing debt until the White House and lawmakers address the immediate issue of extending the debt ceiling.
McCarthy, on the other hand, dismissed the idea as pointless.
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At the Capitol, he said, “Really think about this, if you’re the leader, if you’re the only president, and you’re going to look at the 14th Amendment to look at something like that — I’d think you’d kind of be a failure. to work with people across the aisle, or to work with your own party to get something done.”
As concerns about a U.S. bankruptcy become more acute, discussions within the Beltway have become heated over whether or not the debt ceiling is constitutional under the 14th Amendment, which primarily deals with citizenship and was introduced into the Constitution after the Civil War.
Embrace lawlessness
The theory’s central clause comes from the 14th Amendment, which states that the national debt “shall not be questioned.”
However, some members of the Biden administration have been hesitant to fully embrace the concept, citing concerns about the legal and economic ramifications of the idea.
The only way to preserve the banking system and the economy, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on ABC Sunday, is for Congress to do its duty by lifting the debt ceiling and allowing us to pay our debts. And it’s important that we don’t have to wonder if the president has the authority to continue issuing debt. In other words, this would mean a constitutional crisis.
Without saying it outright, Yellen called it “one of the bad options” if Congress doesn’t act.
A Harvard law professor who quoted Biden on Tuesday originally opposed the plan, but later changed his mind, saying that while fundamental questions remain to be answered, “they are the wrong ones to ask.”
President Biden claims the 14th Amendment is a possible basis for forcing Congress to raise the debt limit. He cites Harvard professor Laurence Tribe, the same authority quoted by Biden for his blatantly unconstitutional expulsion moratorium. https://t.co/Tx2t2gyIeJ
— Jonathan Turley (@Jonathan Turley) May 10, 2023
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In an op-ed for The New York Times, she argued that the real issue is whether or not Congress has the power to use an “arbitrary dollar cap” to force the executive branch to carry out its bidding after previously rejecting spending measures. responsible for the country’s financial crisis.
Yellen has warned Congress that the United States could go bankrupt in early June if the debt ceiling is not raised. Increased interest rates, the loss of jobs, a fall in the stock market, and the postponement of Social Security benefits would all result from a default.
Even after Biden’s meeting with congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday, it doesn’t appear the parties have made any progress in avoiding a default.
Reprinted with permission. Display this story and more at WayneDupree.com.
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