While the details of federal budgetary policy are complex, the broad outline of the debt ceiling crisis is relatively straightforward: The narrow House Republican majority has a series of far-right demands they expect Democrats in the Senate and the White House to accept. If President Joe Biden and his allies refuse to pay the ransom, GOP leaders say they’ll use the debt ceiling to crash the economy on purpose.
There’s growing chatter, however, about a provocative alternative in which Biden could work around Congress to free the hostage.
Circling back to our recent coverage, the 14th Amendment solution is sometimes derided as a “gimmick,” but it’s rooted in a relatively straightforward reading of the constitutional text, which states that “the validity of the public debt of the United States … shall not be questioned.”
If the validity of the debt, under constitutional mandate, can’t be questioned, then it’s not up to Congress to pass legislation — it’s up to the executive branch to simply honor the nation’s obligations. Or put another way, if Biden and his team were to seriously pursue this, they would simply ignore the debt ceiling, note that the spending in question was already approved by the legislative branch through the appropriations process, and point to the 14th Amendment to say they have no choice but to follow the Constitution.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said yesterday that this approach is “legally questionable,” which is true. But around the same time, Rep. Jim Clyburn, a member of the House Democratic leadership and a close Biden ally, nevertheless urged the president to be ready to use the 14th Amendment to circumvent Congress and prevent Republicans from allowing the United States to default on its obligations.
This comes on the heels of Biden himself publicly acknowledging this week that he has, in fact, “been considering the 14th Amendment” as a potential resolution.
To date, GOP officials haven’t said much…
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