Global Courant 2023-05-10 14:00:34
President Joe Biden told reporters on Tuesday that he was considering invoking a constitutional provision on the validity of U.S. debts to sidestep House Republicans amid a tense standoff over the country’s borrowing limit.
“I’ve considered the 14th Amendment,” the president said after a debt limit meeting with congressional leaders failed to yield significant progress. “I’ll be very blunt with you, if we get through this I’m thinking of taking a look – months down the line – to see what the court would say about whether or not it works.”
Experts speaking to Fox News Digital questioned the viability of President Joe Biden invoking the 14th Amendment to the Constitution to raise the federal borrowing limit, each explaining that the probable rationale for the law didn’t quite fit the context of the situation.
The 14th Amendment reads: “The validity of the national debt of the United States permitted by law, including debts incurred for the payment of pensions and contributions for services in the suppression of insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.”
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US President Joe Biden addresses the press after meeting with US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell at the White House in Washington, DC, on September 9 May 2023 .
Top Biden officials have distanced themselves from the idea. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told ABC News’ This Week that invoking the amendment would create a “constitutional crisis.”
And their hesitation appears to be shared by members of the legal community. Thomas Lee, a constitutional law professor at Fordham University, told Fox News Digital: “I wouldn’t call it crazy because, you know, it’s plausible based on reading the text, but given the context…I just think not it’s the best reading of it.”
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“Applied to what President Biden might do today, it would be a unilateral presidential action, without congressional authorization… I’m not sure exactly what that would be. He can’t borrow money to pay the debt: Congress has the power “to borrow money on credit from the United States” under Article I, Section 8. I am not a financial expert and so, other than borrowing money, I am not quite sure what the president could do to “pay off the national debt of the United States.” The United States will be questioned,” Lee said.
But he predicted that when faced with a lawsuit from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the Supreme Court may deny playing any role in the case altogether.
WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 09: U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) holds a media availability at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on May 9, 2023. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“My gut reaction, based on Chief Justice Roberts, is that the Supreme Court might say it’s unjustifiable, that is, this isn’t an entitlement provision. So we’re just not going to decide the political issue,” Lee said. .
Ilan Wurman, an associate professor of law at Arizona State University, argued that the 14th Amendment was not intended to cover future debts.
“The clear reading of Section Four is that it has absolutely nothing to do with the debt limit. Existing debts cannot be questioned; but raising the debt ceiling is intended to new debts. Nothing in Section Four says Congress must create new debt to pay off older debt. If the debt ceiling is not raised, the validity of existing debts will not be called into question in any way,” Wurman said.
WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 09: US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) meet in the Oval Office of the White House House on May 9, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Congress has many other ways to pay off existing debt. For example, it can sell public lands or reduce expenses. thing as questioning its validity. A creditor may or may not have a remedy for such a failure – there are generally no bankruptcy procedures for sovereigns – but that still is not the same as canceling a debt. A right can even still be a right. if there is no effective remedy and a debt may still be valid even if a creditor is unable to collect.”
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Carrie Severino, head of the Judicial Crisis Network, slammed Biden for even considering the move.
“It is telling that the Biden administration is willing to consider far-fetched constitutional theories that not even Janet Yellen will embrace, instead of engaging in the real legislative work of dialogue and compromise,” Severino told Fox News Digital.
WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 09: U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) leave after meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House
Yellen warned during her ABC television interview this weekend about the potential consequences of invoking the 14th Amendment.
“There is no other way to protect our financial system and our economy than to let Congress do its job and raise the debt ceiling and allow us to pay our bills,” she said. “We shouldn’t get to the point where we have to consider whether the president can continue to issue debt. This would be a constitutional crisis.”
Elizabeth Elkind is a political reporter for Fox News Digital.
