{"id":574479,"date":"2023-05-14T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-14T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/democrats-press-biden-to-use-14th-amendment-on-debt-ceiling\/"},"modified":"2023-05-14T19:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-05-14T16:00:00","slug":"democrats-press-biden-to-use-14th-amendment-on-debt-ceiling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/democrats-press-biden-to-use-14th-amendment-on-debt-ceiling\/","title":{"rendered":"#Democrats press Biden to use 14th Amendment on debt ceiling"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/warrenelizabeth_050223ag01_w.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Senate Democrats are urging President Biden to use the 14<sup>th<\/sup> Amendment to raise the debt ceiling, arguing it is in his constitutional authority to take the unilateral step to prevent a GOP-driven default.<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s borrowing authority by taking a step no previous president has done.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cI personally feel that we should test that and I think that the language is very explicit in that amendment,\u201d said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (Ill.) when asked whether Biden has the authority.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe 14<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0Amendment is not anyone\u2019s 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\u2019s responsibility to find an alternative path,\u201d said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Republicans in the House and Senate have warned against using the 14<sup>th<\/sup> Amendment, saying Biden does not have this power and warning of challenges in the courts.<\/p>\n<p>Biden himself has raised the possibility, indicating he\u2019d consider the move but not without pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have been considering the 14<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0Amendment,\u201d Biden told reporters Tuesday after meeting with congressional leaders at the White House and making little progress on the debt-limit stalemate. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Treasure Secretary Janet Yellen last week, however, acknowledged serious problems with the 14<sup>th<\/sup> Amendment as an answer to the debt crisis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere would clearly be litigation around that; it\u2019s not a short-run solution,\u201d she said at a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> conference in Japan, adding it would be \u201clegally questionable.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The 14<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0Amendment, passed by the Senate in 1866 shortly after the end of the Civil War, states \u201cthe validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The language was adopted to ensure that the former Confederate states could not attempt to disavow the debts incurred by the Union during the war. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Durbin acknowledged that using the 14<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0Amendment would led to a court challenge and was not an ideal option. But Democrats are also signaling they might rather roll the dice in court than agree to GOP spending cuts \u2014 or hope a deal can be reached with McCarthy.<\/p>\n<p>Warren pointed to the writings of constitutional scholar and Harvard University professor emeritus Lawrence Tribe, who argued in a May 7 New York Times op-ed that Biden has a duty to uphold the laws, passed by Congress, that have incurred more than $31 trillion in debt. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cProfessor Tribe rightly points out that the 14<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0Amendment creates a plausible way to deal with the debt ceiling, even in the face of the Republican hostage taking,\u201d she said. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Asked whether Biden should deploy the 14<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0Amendment as soon as next month, Warren said \u201cit depends what the alternative is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the alternative is that the Republicans are going to hurdle us over a cliff in which the American economy crashes, we\u2019re thrown into a recession and millions of people are put out of work and our good name around the world is destroyed, then not-great alternatives look like a better option than chaos,\u201d she said. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThe language seems pretty straightforward and it\u2019s hard to reconcile the language in the 14<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0Amendment with a law passed by Congress that creates a debt ceiling,\u201d she added. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Warren taught law at Harvard University before winning election to the Senate. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Biden on Tuesday offered caution when it comes to the 14<sup>th<\/sup> Amendment talk, saying \u201cthe problem is it would have to be litigated\u201d and warning that \u201cin the meantime, without an extension, it would still end up in the same place,\u201d suggesting that a default still might result if a court stayed his action. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The growing possibility that Biden might attempt a constitutional end run around Congress is sparking alarm among Republicans. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) responded to Biden\u2019s threat to use the 14<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0Amendment by declaring on the Senate floor that \u201cunconstitutionally acting without Congress\u201d is \u201cnot an option.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.), the second-ranking Senate GOP leader, said Biden would face a legal challenge that would likely find its way to the Supreme Court, which has a 6 to 3 conservative majority. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThat will be tested. I think it would have to be litigated in court,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a realistic solution to the current crisis but my understanding is he\u2019s talking about potentially raising that issue and getting some sort of a legal reading on it for the next time around.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But Democratic senators argue that Biden has clear constitutional authority to circumvent McCarthy now and they fear the Speaker is under too much political pressure from House conservatives and former President Trump to agree to any debt-limit bill that could pass the Senate. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMAGA wants a default. It\u2019s everybody else\u2019s responsibility to prevent one,\u201d said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), referring to Trump\u2019s allies in the House. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He predicted that McCarthy would be willing to let the nation default \u201cunless we repeal all the things that we enacted last Congress, which is essentially the same as asking for a default.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At a CNN town hall in New Hampshire Wednesday, Trump called on Republicans in Congress to \u201cdo a default\u201d if Biden doesn\u2019t agree to \u201cmassive spending cuts.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>McCarthy distanced himself from those comments on Thursday and insisted that Biden is pushing for a default because he refused to negotiate with him for more than three months.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The brinksmanship ship has spurred Democrats to press Biden to weigh executive action. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said using the 14<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0Amendment to raise the debt limit \u201cbeats default.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Whitehouse said Biden has authority under the Constitution to raise the debt limit without Congress \u201cbecause his duties to faithfully execute the laws includes all the laws that the forcing of default would require the government and the president to break, which includes all the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ropriations bills and so forth.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Whitehouse and other Democrats believe that if Congress refuses to raise the debt limit, it would force the executive branch to violate the wide array of laws that require federal funding of priorities ranging from the annual appropriations bills, to the payment of Medicare and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social<\/a> Security to interest on the U.S. debt. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), another member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said \u201cthere\u2019s a strong argument\u201d that Biden \u201chas authority\u201d to use the 14<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0Amendment to avoid a default if he can\u2019t strike a deal with McCarthy. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I think we should have an agreement to raise the debt ceiling without having to resort to that authority,\u201d he said. \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/4003076-democrats-press-biden-to-use-14th-amendment-on-debt-ceiling\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":574480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/warrenelizabeth_050223ag01_w.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[81188,142964,134417,134343,116734,117218,77105,90482,124783,991,35813,70289],"class_list":["post-574479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-janet-yellen","tag-14th-amendment","tag-blog-briefing-room","tag-campaign","tag-debt-ceiling","tag-dick-durbin","tag-elizabeth-warren","tag-house","tag-international","tag-joe-biden","tag-kevin-mccarthy","tag-senate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=574479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/574480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=574479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=574479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=574479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}