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Progressives Say It Would Be 'Devastatingly Foolish' for Biden to Let GOP Bully Him Over Debt Limit
"GOP leaders have sent a wildly exploitative ransom note to the public," said one watchdog. "The administration should not accept its terms."
May 15, 2023
With President Joe Biden set to meet congressional leaders again on Tuesday as the so-called X-date nears, progressive watchdogs and commentators are warning the White House against caving to any of the Republican Party's spending demands, arguing that concessions would reward the GOP's debt ceiling hostage-taking, further embolden far-right lawmakers, and harm vulnerable Americans.
"GOP leaders have sent a wildly exploitative ransom note to the public. The administration should not accept its terms," Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project, said in a statement Monday, pointing to the " many executive branch pathways" Biden can explore if House Republicans refuse to accept a clean debt ceiling increase before June 1—the day the U.S. Treasury Department may no longer be able to meet the federal government's payment obligations.
"The White House should be clear about the specific and steep costs to the American people of cutting government services and expediting fossil fuel extraction while limiting democratic community dissent," Hauser continued, pointing to the safety net cuts and Big Oil giveaways in the House GOP's proposed solution to the debt ceiling impasse.
"Heading into the 2024 election, with democracy itself yet again on the ballot, it would be devastatingly foolish to show the world that the president of the United States can be bullied."
"This is President Biden's moment to prove that protecting America's wellbeing is more important to him than his self-image as a Senate wheel-and-dealer," added Hauser. "These are not good-faith negotiations. Heading into the 2024 election, with democracy itself yet again on the ballot, it would be devastatingly foolish to show the world that the president of the United States can be bullied."
Progressives' concerns over Biden's willingness to stand firm in the face of GOP brinkmanship and, if necessary, fully utilize his executive authority to avert a debt default have grown in recent days amid reports that White House officials are "privately aiming for a two-year deal that would lift the debt limit and impose new limits on discretionary spending," as Politico put it last week.
Republicans are pushing for 10 years of spending caps, an extreme demand that harks back to the GOP's approach during the 2011 debt ceiling standoff. Biden was vice president and the Obama White House's lead negotiator during that fight, which ended with a law that badly hindered the U.S. economy's recovery from the Great Recession.
Analysts and federal officials have warned that the GOP's latest austerity push could have similarly destructive consequences, resulting in steep cuts to critical government agencies and programs—from rental assistance to food aid. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said in March that the GOP's call for a federal spending freeze would make it "impossible to stave off mass evictions."
Ceding at all to the GOP on federal spending would be "a disastrous move," The American Prospect's Ryan Cooper argued Monday in the latest edition of the publication's "X-Date" newsletter.
"Politically, it reinforces the precedent that Republicans can extract concessions through legislative terrorism, and by signaling weakness and timidity in the Democratic leadership, it will further enable GOP extremism," Cooper wrote. "If Republicans control either chamber of Congress next time the ceiling is hit—a high likelihood given how bad the Senate map is in 2024—then they’re virtually certain to take the debt ceiling hostage again."
Moreover, Cooper noted the possibility that spending cuts "would suck hundreds of billions of dollars out of an economy that is already plainly softening, thanks to high interest rates and instability in the banking system."
"A ton of austerity might just be the thing that tips America into a recession during an election year," he continued, "with Biden, a willing negotiator in this process, on the ballot."
In addition to negotiating broad spending levels, Biden told reporters Sunday that he's prepared to examine Republican proposals on work requirements for recipients of federal aid. Analysts have warned that the GOP's work requirement plans would boot millions off of Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
\u201cPretty striking: Biden says he\u2019s waiting to hear GOP proposal on work requirements, per pool report (h/t @TonyRomm).\u201d— Jeff Stein (@Jeff Stein) 1684116402
With June 1 rapidly approaching, there's little public evidence that an agreement between the Biden administration and Republicans is imminent.
While the White House said late last week that staff meetings "have been productive over the past few days," House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)—who won his party leadership post by agreeing to use the debt ceiling as leverage to pursue far-right policy goals—declared Monday that he believes the two sides are "far apart" in the ongoing debt ceiling talks.
The Washington Postreported Monday that White House negotiators recently gave Republican leaders "a list of proposals to reduce the deficit by closing tax loopholes."
"Republican negotiators rejected every item," according to the Post.
With House Republicans refusing to accept a condition-free debt limit increase or the White House's budget proposals, pressure has been mounting for the Biden administration to pursue unilateral solutions.
Biden himself said last week that he "has been considering" invoking the 14th Amendment, which states that "the validity of the public debt of the United States... shall not be questioned."
Some constitutional scholars—including Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe—have encouraged Biden to take that route if needed, though the president and members of his administration have expressed concerns over legal challenges that would be sure to follow.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Sunday that "the 14th Amendment is not anyone's first choice."
"The first choice is that the Republicans raise the debt ceiling because the United States government never, ever, ever, ever defaults on its legal obligations," Warren added. "But if Kevin McCarthy is going to push the United States over a cliff, then it becomes the president's responsibility to find an alternative path."
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Biden 'Considering' 14th Amendment But Downplays Using It to End Debt Limit Fight
"The problem is, it would have to be litigated," the president said of the strategy. "I don't think that solves our problem now."
May 09, 2023
After meeting with congressional leaders at the White House Tuesday afternoon, U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters he has been "considering" invoking the 14th Amendment to the Constitution to avert a catastrophic default, but he also suggested that doing so won't solve the current battle with House Republicans.
With Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and others warning that the U.S. could face its first-ever default as soon as June 1, some legal experts and members of Congress have promoted unilateral action by Biden—such as minting a $1 trillion coin or citing the 14th Amendment, which says in part that the validity of the public debt "shall not be questioned," to justify continuing to pay the nation's bills even if GOP lawmakers won't raise the official borrowing limit.
"I have been considering the 14th Amendment" and Laurence Tribe "thinks that it would be legitimate," Biden said Tuesday evening, describing the Harvard University professor emeritus as "a man I have enormous respect for" and "who advised me for a long time."
"But the problem is, it would have to be litigated," the president said of the strategy, which Tribe advocated for in an opinion piece for The New York Times on Sunday. Biden later added that "I don't think that solves our problem now."
\u201cPresident Biden on #DebtCeiling: "I have been considering the 14th amendment."\u201d— CSPAN (@CSPAN) 1683673302
The president signaled that he is looking into asking the federal judiciary to weigh in on the 14th Amendment debate "months down the road," after settling the ongoing dispute with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
House Republicans last month passed their so-called Limit, Save, Grow Act, which would raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion or until March 31, 2024, whichever comes first, but also impose dramatic spending cuts that would affect working families. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has called the legislation "dead on arrival."
Both McCarthy and Schumer were at the White House for Biden's 4:00 pm ET meeting, along with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
Biden, who unveiled his budget blueprint in March, said that "I told congressional leaders that I'm prepared to begin a separate discussion about my budget and spending priorities, but not under the threat of default."
\u201cThe @HouseGOP's MAGA Debt Default plan checks off the wishlists of their most extreme members, the ultra-wealthy, and big corporations.\u201d— Accountable.US (@Accountable.US) 1683673866
Schumer said after the meeting that "we explicitly asked Speaker McCarthy, would he take default off the table. He refused. President Biden said he would; Leader Jeffries said he would; of course, I said I would, but he wouldn't take it off the table."
"The bottom line is very simple: There are large differences between the parties," he continued, flanked by Jeffries. "If you look at what President Biden had proposed and you look at what Speaker McCarthy has proposed, they're very, very different. We can try to come together on those, in a budget and appropriations process, but to use the risk of default—with all the dangers that has for the American people—as a hostage and say it's my way or no way, or mostly my way or no way, is dangerous."
McConnell claimed that "the United States is not going to default; it never has and it never will," but also made clear that Senate Republicans aren't interested in a clean debt limit increase and stressed that Biden and McCarthy must reach an agreement.
McCarthy, meanwhile, said that "everybody in this meeting reiterated the positions they were at. I didn't see any new movement."
According to Biden, the meeting attendees' staffs will continue to communicate this week and another meeting is set for Friday.
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Biden Can 'Absolutely' Invoke 14th Amendment Over Debt Ceiling, Says Raskin
Members of Congress, legal scholars, and even the union representing federal workers are calling on the White House to answer the GOP's economic hostage-taking with unilateral action to prevent a default.
May 08, 2023
As congressional leaders prepare for a Tuesday meeting at the White House, Congressman Jamie Raskin, a constitutional scholar, affirmed Sunday that if GOP lawmakers won't raise the debt ceiling without major spending cuts, President Joe Biden can invoke the 14th Amendment to keep borrowing and avert a catastrophic first-ever U.S. default.
Section 4 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says in part, "The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law... shall not be questioned."
Asked whether the president could and should use that part of the amendment to combat Republican efforts to hold the global economy hostage, Raskin (D-Md.) told MSNBC's Jen Pskai—Biden's former press secretary—that "I think he has that authority under these circumstances, absolutely, because the Congress has put him in a constitutionally untenable position."
\u201c.@jrpsaki Do you think President Biden has the authority to invoke the 14th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling on its own? \n\n@RepRaskin: "I think he has that authority under these circumstances, absolutely. The Congress has put him in a constitutionally untenable position."\u201d— Inside with Jen Psaki (@Inside with Jen Psaki) 1683483272
"If he decides to default for the country, he's... violating the Constitution, because the 14th Amendment says you can't do that," Raskin said of Biden, pointing to a New York Times opinion piece by Harvard University professor emeritus Laurence Tribe.
Tribe—whose previous students include Raskin along with former President Barack Obama, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Elena Kagan—detailed why he has changed his mind on the debt limit argument.
"The question isn't whether the president can tear up the debt limit statute to ensure that the Treasury Department can continue paying bills submitted by veterans' hospitals or military contractors or even pension funds that purchased government bonds," he wrote Sunday. "The question isn't whether the president can in effect become a one-person Supreme Court, striking down laws passed by Congress."
Tribe continued:
The right question is whether Congress—after passing the spending bills that created these debts in the first place—can invoke an arbitrary dollar limit to force the president and his administration to do its bidding.
There is only one right answer to that question, and it is no.
And there is only one person with the power to give Congress that answer: the president of the United States. As a practical matter, what that means is this: Mr. Biden must tell Congress in no uncertain terms—and as soon as possible, before it's too late to avert a financial crisis—that the United States will pay all its bills as they come due, even if the Treasury Department must borrow more than Congress has said it can.
Praising Tribe's piece for the Times, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) tweeted early Monday: "The Treasury has the [constitutional] obligation to pay our debts and spend the money Congress has already directed it to do. It really is that straightforward."
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned in a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) last week that "our best estimate is that we will be unable to continue to satisfy all of the government's obligations by early June, and potentially as early as June 1."
Appearing on ABC's "The Week" Sunday, Yellen confirmed the timeline she laid out for the speaker is "still our current thinking" and explained that "we've been using extraordinary measures for several months now, and our ability to do that is running out."
While acknowledging that Biden said Friday he was not yet ready to invoke the 14th Amendment, ABC's George Stephanopoulos asked Yellen if it was still a possibility. She would not explicitly address whether the White House is considering the move, instead stressing that "our priority is to make sure that Congress does its job."
"There is no way to protect our financial system and our economy other than Congress doing its job and raising the debt ceiling and enabling us to pay our bills," Yellen said. "And we should not get to the point where we need to consider whether the president can go on issuing debt. This would be a constitutional crisis."
\u201cTwelve years ago, then-President Obama closed the door on using the 14th Amendment to resolve a Republican-imposed debt ceiling crisis. President Biden, however, is leaving that door wide open. (via MaddowBlog) https://t.co/srUQmMkREf\u201d— MSNBC (@MSNBC) 1683570644
Led by McCarthy, House Republicans last month passed their so-called Limit, Save, Grow Act, which would raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion or until March 31, 2024—whichever comes first—but also impose dramatic cuts that would notably impact lower-income households. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has repeatedly called the bill "dead on arrival."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and fellow Democrats are working on a "discharge petition" effort to force a vote on a clean bill raising the debt limit, but doing so would require support from at least five Republicans, which is unlikely.
In a Monday letter to Schumer, 43 GOP senators made clear that they are "united behind the House Republican conference in support of spending cuts and structural budget reform as a starting point for negotiations on the debt ceiling."
Meanwhile, Schumer, Jeffries, and other Democratic leaders on Monday released an updated version of their recent report warning that Republicans forcing a default would be catastrophic, "but even the threat of breaching the debt ceiling can have serious economic consequences for families."
Biden is set to meet with McCarthy, Jeffries, Schumer, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Tuesday "for what he called a separate negotiation on fiscal policy—even though it is effectively linked to the debt limit drama," the Timesnoted Monday.
The newspaper added:
White House officials said this weekend that Mr. Biden has been publicly and privately adamant that he will not bargain with Republicans over raising the limit. "Let's get it straight: They're trying to hold the debt hostage to get us to agree to some draconian cuts, magnificently difficult and damaging cuts," Mr. Biden told a meeting of cabinet members and other economic officials on Friday.
Citing three unnamed sources with knowledge of internal conversations, The Washington Postreported Monday that White House officials see unilateral actions—from invoking the 14th Amendment to minting a platinum coin worth $1 trillion—as "risky choices that could cause lasting economic damage" but also "do not want to take the proposals completely off the table."
The National Association of Government Employees (NAGE), which represents about 75,000 federal employees, cited the 14th Amendment in a federal lawsuit filed Monday that seeks to have the debt limit law declared unconstitutional.
NAGE's complaint, which names Biden and Yellen as defendants, argues the debt limit statute "is unconstitutional because it puts the president in a quandary to exercise discretion to continue borrowing to pay for the programs which Congress has heretofore duly authorized and for which Congress has appropriated funds or to stop borrowing and to determine which of these programs the president, and not the Congress, will suspend, curtail, or cancel altogether."
The filing adds that NAGE "seeks to protect all its members from additional extraordinary measures as well as major spending-related actions that will necessarily be taken without approval of Congress and that result in layoffs, furloughs, requirements for unpaid work, and loss of funding of the pensions and retirement plans of its members."
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