As time runs short on the nation's ability to pay its bills and the threat of the first-ever default looms, President Joe Biden says invoking the 14th Amendment to address the debt ceiling has been raised as an idea.
How does the 14th Amendment apply to the debt ceiling?
"The text says that the validity of the public debt shall not be questioned," said Paul Schiff Berman, professor of law at George Washington University. He says that under a literal interpretation of the text,"if you don't raise the debt limit, you are challenging the validity of the public debt, and so, arguably, Congress's failure would be unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment."The 14th Amendment was passed and ratified just after the Civil War.
The judiciary would have to address questions of standing to bring the lawsuit, whether the 14th Amendment addresses the debt question and whether the executive branch is empowered to keep paying the debt, absent congressional action, and more.
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