White House Rules Out Plan B on Debt Ceiling

The Wall Street Journal (online registration required): White House officials said flatly Thursday that President Barack Obama won’t invoke the 14th Amendment of the Constitution or other extraordinary powers to issue debt if Congress fails to lift the debt ceiling.

Pundits and law professors have discussed the 14th Amendment and other out-of-the-box ideas for enabling the U.S. to pay its bills even if Congress doesn’t act. The amendment, ratified in the wake of the Civil War, says the “validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law … shall not be questioned.” So the president, by one theory, can do whatever it takes to ensure that public debts are paid back.

Read article