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The Fourth Zone Of Presidential Power: Analyzing The Debt-Ceiling Standoff Through The Prism Of Youngstown Steel, Chad Deveaux
The Fourth Zone Of Presidential Power: Analyzing The Debt-Ceiling Standoff Through The Prism Of Youngstown Steel, Chad Deveaux
Chad DeVeaux
In this Article, I use the Youngstown Steel Seizure Case to assess the reoccurring debt-ceiling standoffs between Congress and the White House. If the Treasury reaches the debt limit and Congress fails to act, the president will be forced to choose between three options: (1) cancel programs, (2) borrow funds in excess of the debt limit, or (3) raise taxes. Each of these options violates a direct statutory command. In Youngstown, Justice Jackson asserted that “[p]residential powers are not fixed but fluctuate, depending upon their disjunction or conjunction with those of Congress.” He offered his famous three-zone template which evaluates …