Rep. Louis Gohmert: Failure To Raise The Debt Ceiling Is An ‘Impeachable Offense By The President’
Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX) told a reporter with The Young Turks on Friday that the U.S. defaulting on its debt “would be an impeachable offense by the president.”
The reporter asked Gohmert, who was attending the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C., “Will you vote for any deal, to any bill that would increase the debt ceiling?”
“That just depends on what it is,” Gohmert responded. “The word ‘deal’ concerns me…if it’s good for America…”
The reporter then asked, “Would you allow us to default on our debt?”
“No, that would be an impeachable offense by the president,” Gohmert replied.
The irony in Gohmert’s statement is that it is actually Congress’ responsibility to raise the debt ceiling. But while Gohmert isn’t yet sure if he’ll do his job, he has decided that if he doesn’t, he will seek to impeach the president.
There has been speculation that if Congress refuses to increase the debt ceiling, then President Obama could invoke Section Four of the Fourteenth Amendment and unilaterally raise the debt ceiling on his own.
The White House has said they see this action as unconstitutional, however, and will instead wait for Congress to raise the debt limit on its own.
