White House Is Threatening To Bypass Congress

White House Is Threatening To Bypass Congress

(RepublicanReport.org) – As the nation careens toward hitting the debt ceiling by as soon as June 1, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (D-CA), President Joe Biden, and other House and Senate leaders have been in negotiations about paying the United States’ outstanding obligations. McCarthy and House Republicans want Democrats to agree to certain budget cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling, but Biden and those on the Left are not on board. Recently, the president suggested he might go to extreme measures to ensure the US does not default on its debt.

On May 9, The Hill reported that Biden suggested he might use the 14th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling without House approval. Section 4 of the amendment states the “validity” of the US “public debt…shall not be questioned.” In other words, defaulting on outstanding obligations is potentially unconstitutional. The only sticking point is that the measure would have to make its way through the legal system, so relief might not come in time “without an extension.”

On May 11, The Wall Street Journal reported Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s views on using the Constitution to bypass Congress. She said the move was “legally questionable.” Yellen believes the whole process of relying on the House to raise the debt ceiling should change because the current protocol is not a viable “way to run the government.”

The Hill quoted the co-founder of centrist think tank Third Way, Jim Kessler, as saying Biden is essentially warning McCarthy not to “back [him and the Democrats] into a corner” — or else he could use the 14th Amendment to ignore Republicans altogether on the matter. If the president decides to go that route, he runs the risk of facing legal action from GOP lawmakers or Treasury bondholders. Since the move would be unprecedented, it’s unclear how the courts would rule.

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