There Is No Magical Solution to the Debt-Ceiling Crisis
It would be wonderfully simple for Biden to unilaterally raise the limit, but the Constitution doesn’t work that way.
Could it really be that simple??
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While Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff were spinning their hearts out in a Harry Styles vs. Lizzo-themed SoulCycle class this morning, maybe US President Joe Biden was preparing his remarks to discuss the debt ceiling. Or perhaps he was packing his bag for his trip to the G-7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. Or — just spitballing here — maybe he was catching up on a little-known clause within the 14th Amendment, which says the “validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law … shall not be questioned.” A group of Senate Democrats has nudged Biden to invoke the amendment, arguing that if Congress fails to raise the debt limit, he could just borrow more money to save the country from a catastrophic default.