Could Biden Invoke 14th Amendment in Debt Ceiling Dilemma?

President Joe Biden reportedly hasn't ruled out using the 14th Amendment to solve the debt ceiling dilemma.

What's Happening?: Some Democrats want to use this amendment to declare the debt ceiling itself unconstitutional. In part, the 14th Amendment says "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." Some legal scholars believe that this overrides statutory borrowing limits, such as the debt limit. Biden plans to meet on Tuesday with leaders in the House and Senate to discuss the debt ceiling and spending.

Key Quote: "Our priority is to make sure that Congress does its job," Yellen said. "There is no way to protect our financial system in our economy other than Congress doing its job and raising the debt ceiling and enabling us to pay our bills. 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."

For Context: House Republicans passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling last month in exchange for temporarily freezing expenses at the 2022 level. Most Democrats would prefer to raise the debt limit without conditions.

How the Media Covered it: Some left-rated sources focused more on Yellen's concerns. Some right-rated sources noted that Yellen didn't rule out invoking the amendment to declare the debt ceiling unconstitutional.