The White House indicated on Wednesday that the power to extend the nation’s debt limit lay before Congress and Congress alone, notwithstanding the so-called $1 trillion coin option, which would involve the U.S. Treasury to legally mint a $1 trillion platinum coin in order to guarantee the nation’s creditworthiness.
“There is no substitute for Congress extending the borrowing authority of the United States,” said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney when asked to respond to the idea, which has gotten more traction in recent days. “There is no backup plan. The only option is for Congress to do its job.”
Asked repeatedly whether the White House ruled out the platinum coin option, Carney demurred.
“You can speculate about a lot of things, but nothing needs to come to these kinds of, you know, speculative notions about how to deal with a problem that is easily resolved by Congress doing its job,” he added.
