Laurence Tribe explains how 14th Amendment can help Biden avoid default
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned Congress and President Biden they have only until June 1 to reach a deal to raise the nation’s $31.4 trillion borrowing limit or face a default, which would seriously damage the U.S. economy. Republicans are demanding steep budget cuts to many social, healthcare and climate programs in exchange for their agreement to raise the debt limit, a tradeoff Democrats and Biden have rejected. With time running out and a deal nowhere in sight, some have advised Biden to use his constitutional authority to direct the U.S. Treasury to find a way to pay the nation’s debts even if it exceeds the statutory limit. One strategy Biden said he’s considering is a controversial move advocated by Laurence H. Tribe and some other legal scholars. Tribe, Carl M. Loeb University Professor of Constitutional Law emeritus at Harvard Law School, argues the 14th Amendment requires Biden to pay...