Following Frustrating Meeting, Biden Says, ‘I Have Been Considering the 14th Amendment’
Republican McConnell promises no default, but leaves results in McCarthy's hands
President Biden brought the top Democrats and Republicans from Capitol Hill to the White House Tuesday, but the gathering bore little fruit as participants acknowledged frustration.
The president, however, publicly acknowledged for the first time that he is considering the invocation of the 14th Amendment to ensure the government can pay its bills.
The leaders came together to try to find a solution to approve an increase in the federal government's debt ceiling.
The federal government has hit its cap on paying its bills, and the extraordinary measures which the government has been using in the meantime will run out as early as June 1.
Although Congress has approved an increase in the government's debt limit dozens of times under presidents of both parties in past decades, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other House Republicans want to hold such an increase hostage to Biden and Democrats agreeing to a raft of draconian cuts in federal spending.
The president, however, has ruled out any such negotiations while using the debt ceiling as a political weapon.
If the nation's political leaders can't reach a deal to raise the debt limit in time, the government will, for the first time, default and trigger an economic meltdown.
After the meeting, those in the room acknowledged that no progress was made.
There seemed even disagreement between the two Republicans in the meeting.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) pledged that there would be no default, despite publicly putting McCarthy in the Republicans' drivers seat.
“As I think all of you know, I’ve been through a few debt ceilings over the years. Let me first make the point, the United States is not going to default, it never has, and it never will,” said McConnell. “However, elections have consequences. We now have divided government. We didn’t have a divided government last year.
“In 2019, I told President [Donald] Trump, who was no fan of Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi, that they needed to work it out. Why? We had divided government,” McConnell added. “The solution to this problem lies with two people: the president of the United States, who can sign a bill and deliver the members of his party to vote for it, and the speaker of the House.”
Despite McConnell's pledge of no default, McCarthy would not follow suit, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
McCarthy was asked, Schumer said, if he would he take default off the table.
“He refused,” Schumer told reporters outside the White House after the meeting. “President Biden said he would, [House Minority] Leader [Hakeem] Jeffries said he would, of course I said I would, but he wouldn’t take it off the table.
“And instead of him giving us a plan to remove default, he gave us a plan to take default hostage. And that is a shame. Because that makes things more complicated,” Schumer added. “The bottom line is very simple: There are large differences between the parties. If you look at what President Biden had proposed and you look at what Speaker McCarthy has proposed, they’re very, very different. We can try to come together on those in a budget and appropriations process, but to use the risk of default with all the dangers that has for the American people as a hostage, and say, ‘It’s my way or no way,’ or, ‘Mostly my way or no way,’ is dangerous.”
Despite the wide gap of disagreement, Schumer said that the president asked all four of the leaders and himself to start sitting down as early as tonight, certainly tomorrow, “to see where we can come to an agreement on the budget and the appropriations process.”
“There are probably some places we can agree and some places we can compromise, hopefully, but that has to occur as part of the budget appropriations process,” Schumer added.
However, after the meeting Biden publicly acknowledged that he is looking at a “Plan B,” and that is the use of the 14th Amendment to bypass the debt ceiling and continue to pay the government's bills.
That's a change, as just last week Biden wouldn't publicly consider its use.
Section 4 of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution ensures government debts are paid.
That section reads:
The 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. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Following Tuesday's meeting, Biden said, “I have been considering the 14th Amendment. And a man I have enormous respect for, Larry Tribe, who advised me for a long time, thinks that it would be legitimate, but the problem is, it would have to be litigated.”
Tribe is a prominent American legal scholar who taught at Harvard University.
“And in the meantime, without an extension, it would still end up in the same place. I’ll be very blunt with you: When we get by this, I’m thinking about taking a look at months down the road as to see whether what the court would say about whether or not it does work,” Biden added.
Please support our work…
Also, please subscribe…