Thursday, May 18, 2023
By: Brandon Kamerman
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) is joining many of his Democratic colleagues in calling on President Biden to use the 14th Amendment if Republicans do not agree to raising the nation’s debt ceiling.
“I think that because it would resolve this hostage taking once and for all, it is worth doing because to negotiate is to invite similar debt ceiling crises every single year and into the future, always threatening default on America, always threatening crashing the economy. This is a terrible way to run a country. It’s time to take a significant stand and say no more. The constitution says we’re paying our debts. We’re paying our debts.”
A clause of the 14th Amendment, which was adopted into the U.S. Constitution in 1868, says the validity of the debt “shall not be questioned.”
It would essentially allow President Biden to bypass Congress to deal with the debt limit crisis, but it would likely face legal challenges.
The president says he has considered using it.
English 
Spanish