14th Amendment Should Be Used Now, Says Former Biden Adviser Tribe

(CTN News) – He admitted Tuesday he was considering using the 14th Amendment to end the debt standoff – but said he feared it would get mired in the courts.

The constitutional scholar who warmly welcomed Biden to the idea called the president’s concerns misguided on Wednesday.

“I don’t think there is any litigation to worry about,” said Harvard professor Laurence Tribe, adding that he hopes Biden realizes a court challenge is not something to worry about.

In his response to Biden, Tribe is trying to persuade the president to employ novel legal arguments as a way to resolve the increasingly thorny debt ceiling dispute.

A New York Times op ed by Tribe arguing that the debt ceiling should be ignored in order for the president to carry out other laws enacted by Congress first caught Biden’s attention.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Biden expressed openness to the option, but rejected it in light of the current standoff. Because the 14th Amendment would be challenged in court, similar questions would arise regarding default and, potentially, market chaos. Upon resolution of the current standoff, he said he would consider the idea.

When we’re done with this, Biden said he might review it.

It is not possible to sue the 14th Amendment president for not violating the Constitution, Tribe said in an interview. His expectation was that the Supreme Court would reject such a case.

Congress has authorized the president and secretary of the Treasury to spend the money Congress has authorized. No matter how hard they bend their standing doctrine, no one has standing to sue the president or the Treasury secretary.

During a trial, the court would ask, “Where should the money not be spent?”

Biden on Tuesday called Tribe “a man I have enormous respect for” and someone who advised him “for a long time.” Tribe declined to say whether he is speaking with the White House about the 14th Amendment concept.

Based on Tribe’s argument, Congress cannot demand a separate dollar limit on spending while requiring the executive to spend money and create debt.

The 14th Amendment — which says the nation’s debt “shall not be questioned” — has garnered increased interest as the nation edges closer to default.

White House officials have made clear that Biden is serious about exploring it as an alternative to another spin around the nation’s fiscal drain in the future if and when the current standoff ends.

In other words, the debt limit does not limit debt. There is no positive function associated with it. As Tribe put it, it’s simply a formula for periodic crises.

There has been a similar concern among 14th Amendment Democrats about a certain court challenge that has kept them from embracing the escape hatch.

Democrat whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) thinks it should be tested. As the June 1 deadline approaches, we cannot afford to enter a last-minute legal battle.

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