A group of Senate Democrats on Thursday sent a letter to President Joe Biden calling on him to prepare to invoke the 14th Amendment to raise the debt limit and avert default unilaterally without Congressional action.

What You Need To Know

  • A group of Senate Democrats on Thursday sent a letter to President Joe Biden calling on him to prepare to invoke the 14th Amendment to avert a first-ever default on the country's debt

  • The 14th Amendment, which largely deals with aspects of citizenship and the rights of citizens, says that “the validity of the public debt of the United States ... shall not be questioned"

  • Amid the standoff with Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and his House Republican conference over raising the country’s borrowing power, some experts have suggested that the 14th Amendment is an avenue the president could use to avoid default and supersede the debt limit

  • Some, like Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, have warned that such a move would risk a “constitutional crisis” and would almost certainly face a legal challenge

  • Biden, who is negotiating with McCarthy over the debt limit, said last week that he was "considering" invoking the 14th Amendment, adding: "The problem is it would have to be litigated."

The 14th Amendment, which largely deals with aspects of citizenship and the rights of citizens, says that “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.”

“It is unfortunate that Republicans in the House of Representatives and Senate are not acting in good faith,” the letter from the Democratic members of the Senate, led by Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith, reads. “Instead, Republicans have made it clear that they are prepared to hold our entire economy hostage unless you accede to their demands to reduce the deficit on the backs of working families. That is simply unacceptable.”

“We agree with you that the United States must not default and that no one should be allowed to hold the economy hostage,” the letter continues.

Amid the standoff with Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and his House Republican conference over raising the country’s borrowing power, some experts have suggested that the 14th Amendment is an avenue the president could use to avoid default and supersede the debt limit. But some, like Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, have warned that such a move would risk a “constitutional crisis” and would almost certainly face a legal challenge.

“I have been considering the 14th Amendment,” Biden said last week. “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.”

But as Biden and McCarthy continue to negotiate over lifting the debt limit – Republicans have demanded steep spending cuts in exchange for raising the country’s borrowing power – some Democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns over what the California Republican may ask for in return.

“Defaulting on our national debt would have catastrophic consequences,” the Democratic lawmakers wrote, adding: “While we cannot default on our debt, we also cannot allow the destructive Republican budget to be implemented.”

House Republicans in April passed a bill known as the Limit, Save, Grow Act, which would raise the debt limit in exchange for steep spending cuts. A report from Moody’s Analytics predicts that plan would result in a loss of nearly 800,000 jobs and slowed economic growth if enacted.

“The choice we face is clear. We cannot reach a budget agreement that increases the suffering of millions of Americans who are already living in desperation,” the lawmakers wrote, adding: “We also cannot allow these budget negotiations to undermine the historic clean energy and environmental justice investments made by Congress and your administration by allowing fossil fuel companies to unleash a flood of dirty energy projects that will worsen the climate crisis and disproportionately impact frontline communities.”

“Republicans’ unwillingness to consider one penny in new revenue from the wealthy and large corporations, along with their diminishment of the disastrous consequences of default, have made it seemingly impossible to enact a bipartisan budget deal at this time,” they added.

The letter comes just a couple of weeks before June 1, the date Treasury Secretary Yellen warned could be when the U.S. runs out of money to raise the debt limit.

The letter’s signatories include Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Ed Markey, D-Mass., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.

“The 14th Amendment provides that the debt of the United States shall not be questioned,” Whitehouse said in a video posted to Twitter explaining his position. “And there's nothing like a default to question the debt. So that would actually be unconstitutional.”

“Moreover, the President has the duty to faithfully execute the laws that Congress passes,” Whitehouse continued. “And if he faithfully executes the debt limit, you'll have to fail to faithfully execute dozens, probably hundreds of other laws that would be impeded by the default. So there's plenty of constitutional basis for the President to knock this off. And when he does, it gets rid of the debt limit hand grenade forever.”