Attorneys representing a federal government employees' union sued Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen over the constitutionality of the debt limit, which caps the amount the federal government can borrow to pay for congressionally approved spending.
The move comes amid tense negotiations over raising the debt ceiling as the administration counts down to when it will no longer be able to pay the nation's bills, known as the X-date. Those bills include those due on the country's debt — and default on the public debt could have disastrous consequences for the national economy and financial system, experts warn.
The National Association of Government Employees, which represents nearly 75,000 employees working in agencies across the federal government, is seeking an injunction that would prevent the Biden administration from suspending operations of the federal government because it has reached the debt limit and an order declaring the statute unconstitutional and unenforceable.
"This litigation is both an effort to protect our members from illegal furloughs and to correct an unconstitutional statute that frequently creates uncertainty and anxiety for millions of Americans," the union's National President David Holway said about the suit filed Monday. "The debt ceiling has become a political football for certain members of Congress. If Congress will not raise the debt limit as it has nearly 80 times before without condition, it leaves no constitutional choice for the president."
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