WASHINGTON − The White House on Tuesday said invoking the 14th Amendment to work around the debt ceiling won’t “fix the current problem” but wouldn’t shut the door entirely on pursuing the unilateral strategy if a deal with Republicans isn’t reached.
“It is not going to fix the current problem that we have right now,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “Congress needs to do its job.”
Pressed whether the 14th Amendment is still on the table for Biden, Jean-Pierre wouldn’t directly say. “This is up to lawmakers,” she said. “Understandably, the president wants any action to be strongly supported by the law, and that’s what you’ve heard him say.”
Biden, during a press conference Sunday in Hiroshima, Japan, went further than he’s gone before on the 14th Amendment, saying flatly that he believes it gives him the legal authority to bypass Congress and get around the debt ceiling, which sets a cap on the amount the U.S. can borrow.
At issue is Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which says “the validity of the public debt of the United States … shall not be questioned.”
Some constitutional law experts − and an increasing number of Democrats in Congress − argue Biden should challenge the constitutionality of the federal debt limit based on the 14th Amendment by having the Treasury continue to issue new debt to fulfill its financial obligations even if Congress doesn’t act.
“I think we have the authority,” Biden said Sunday. But he raised concerns that such a move could withstand potential litigation and appeals in court by the June 1 default deadline. “The question is: Could it be done and invoked in time?”
Biden and McCarthy both described a “productive” White House meeting Monday evening on raising the debt ceiling, but the two sides still have wide differences on spending cuts pushed by Republicans. The next morning McCarthy delivered a bleak outlook in a closed-door meeting with other House Republicans.
“We are nowhere close to a deal,” McCarthy said Tuesday, according to Punchbowl News.
Won’t House won’t give deadline for deal to avoid default
Biden is racing to reach a budget deal with Republican lawmakers so they will join Democrats to raise the debt ceiling before June 1, when the U.S. is projected to run out of money, to avoid a potential default.
But progressive Democrats have raised concerns about spending concessions Biden might have to make to get Republicans on board as they urge Biden to instead pursue the 14th Amendment strategy.
“As disastrous as it would be to default on our debt, it would be equally disastrous to pass the outrageous Republican proposals,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who is among 11 senators in the Democratic Caucus who urged Biden in a letter last week to invoke the 14th Amendment on the debt ceiling.
Talks between the White House and House Republicans have centered on Republicans proposals for stricter work requirements for recipients of food stamps and other welfare benefits, annual caps on future discretionary spending, expedited permitting for oil and gas projects and rescinding COVID-19 funds.
Biden has indicated being open to components of each, but he’s not gone as far as Republicans want.
Jean-Pierre wouldn’t give a date when asked when a deal between Biden and McCarthy need to be struck for Congress to pass debt-ceiling legislation by June 1.
“I’m not going to get into dates,” Jean-Pierre said, “but what I can say is there is an urgency. We want to see this done as soon as possible.”
Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison.
