Reply #15: No they wouldn't . . . [View All]

They have not said anything that would undercut a potential 14th Amendment action. They have very carefully parsed their words.

For example, the President didn't say, "It's not constitutional," or "My lawyers have advised me it's unconstitutional." Instead, he said, "And there have been some suggestions that a President could use that language to basically ignore this debt ceiling rule, which is a statutory rule. It’s not a constitutional rule. I have talked to my lawyers. They do not—they are not persuaded that that is a winning argument.

That's a very carefully worded comment. He didn't say he wouldn't do it. He said that his lawyers weren't persuaded. If he later chose to use it, this comment in no way would impact his claim that he had a right to take this action. The fact that his lawyers weren't persuaded two weeks ago that the suggestion that the President could "ignore the debt ceiling rule" was a WINNING argument. That's very different than saying that it is not a VALID argument.

I think the President is keeping all of his options open - but an important part of that is to not show his hand or to telegraph that he would be willing to use the 14th Amendment if push comes to shove.