As liberals again urged President Barack Obama to invoke the 14th Amendment to the Constitution to raise the debt ceiling without getting approval from Congress, White House press secretary Jay Carney on Thursday said the White House does not believe that option was legal.
“This administration does not believe that the 14th Amendment gives the president the power to ignore the debt ceiling — period,” Carney said.
Carney also noted the White House concluded during the last round of debt ceiling negotiations that this was not a viable option.
The part of the 14th Amendment in question 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.”
Some liberal scholars have suggested that this language gives the president the power to pay the country’s debts without authorization from Congress.
According to The Hill, some Democrats, like Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, continue to believe the White House can still invoke the 14th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling.
“I’ve always thought it was an option,” Durbin said.
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