Saturday, July 2, 2011

Schumer confirms White House considering ignoring debt limit

This morning we speculated that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was seriously considering just ignoring the statutory debt limit by claiming it was superseded by section Four of the 14th amendment. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., confirmed that that course of action has been considered by the White House. Talking Points Memo‘s Brian Beutler reports on a conference call with Schumer today:

I asked Schumer, a lawyer, whether, in his view, the administration had the power to continue issuing new debt even if Congress fails to raise the debt limit. He acknowledged that the question’s been discussed, but said the White House probably shouldn’t go there just yet.

[emphasis mine] Considering the ease with which Obama has violated bankruptcy law, refused to enforce voter fraud laws, and ignored the War Powers Act, what is stopping him from ignoring the debt ceiling.

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