But even in floating such a move, the president also cast doubt on it, telling reporters that it would “have to be litigated and in the meantime without an extension it’d still end up in the same place.” Biden said he would look at the issue of invalidating the debt ceiling through the 14th Amendment “months down the road.”

Raskin, an emeritus constitutional law professor at American University, said Biden’s hand could ultimately be forced if talked with Republicans stay stalled. But the lawmaker added a caveat that whether a move to invoke the 14th Amendment passes constitutional muster would depend on exactly what Biden does to address debt.

“We have virtually no precedent under the validity of the public debt provision,” Raskin said. “But look, the MAGA Republicans are putting McCarthy in a position, who is now putting Biden in a position where he’s going to be forced to choose between either violating the Constitution and violating the laws of the country which require him to pay the bondholders and pay the Social Security recipients, or he’s going to have to violate the debt limit statute.”