Benjy Sarlin July 7, 2011, 11:40 AM

Republicans are pushing back against suggestions from Democrats that the debt ceiling is unconstitutional and can be ignored by the White House.

The notion has generated increased interest among Democrats in recent weeks as debt ceiling talks have lost momentum and rests on language in the 14th Amendment stating that “The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law…shall not be questioned.” President Obama didn’t rule the idea out in his Twitter town hall yesterday, telling the audience that he wanted a deal before it became a relevant debate.

Nervous that Democrats might be saving the move as an emergency option, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and John Cornyn (R-TX) are putting forward a Senate resolution affirming Congress’ right to determine the debt limit.

“I strongly disagree with those who suggest the President has the unilateral authority to put the American people in even greater levels of debt,” Graham said in a statement. “Every time the debt ceiling has been raised it has been through an act of collaboration between the President and Congress. That is not only the right policy decision to make, but the correct political decision as well. We have a President, not a King. Our resolution puts the Senate on record that any debt-limit increase, today or in the future, should be passed by the Congress and signed by the President.”

Cornyn called the idea “the latest attempt by big-spending Democrats to short-circuit the Constitution in order to avoid making tough budget choices.”

There are significant political risks along with the legal issues if Democrats go down that path so if it’s under consideration it would likely be deployed only as an absolute last-ditch measure.

14th Amendment, Barack Obama, Debt Ceiling, John Cornyn, Lindsey Graham