Senate Democrats are urging President Biden to use the 14th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling, arguing it is in his constitutional authority to take the unilateral step to prevent a GOP-driven default.
They say Biden should not agree to GOP demands for major concessions on spending cuts to raise the debt ceiling, and that he should extend the nation’s borrowing authority by taking a step no previous president has done.
“I personally feel that we should test that and I think that the language is very explicit in that amendment,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (Ill.) when asked whether Biden has the authority.
Senate Democrats say they have consulted with constitutional scholars about the option, and that Biden should test it if House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) does not waver in his demands.
“The 14th Amendment is not anyone’s first choice. The first choice is that the Republicans raise the debt ceiling because the United States government never, ever, ever, ever defaults on its legal obligations. But if Kevin McCarthy is going to push the United States over a cliff, then it becomes the president’s responsibility to find an alternative path,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
Republicans in the House and Senate have warned against using the 14th Amendment, saying Biden does not have this power and warning of challenges in the courts.
Biden himself has raised the possibility, indicating he’d consider the move but not without pause.
“I have been considering the 14th Amendment,” Biden told reporters Tuesday after meeting with congressional leaders at the White House and making little progress on the debt-limit stalemate.
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