Biden Has No Power to Unilaterally Raise the Debt Ceiling
Despite rising speculation he could invoke the 14th Amendment, the US Constitution is clear that the president doesn’t have the power of the purse.
The debt ceiling is Kevin McCarthy’s problem.
Photographer: Win McNamee/Getty ImagesIf Congress fails to raise the debt limit, can President Joe Biden somehow borrow more money to save the United States from default? The short answer is no. But that hasn’t stopped a group of Senate Democrats from urging Biden to act unilaterally by invoking the 14th Amendment.
Yet the stand-off between the president and Congress over the debt ceiling has revived interest in a little-known provision of the 14th Amendment that says the “validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law … shall not be questioned.” That statement, on its face, does require the government to pay its debts. But it doesn’t allow the president to ignore the law passed by Congress that caps borrowing.