The Deputy Secretary of the Treasury said President Joe Biden will not invoke the 14th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling.
"I think the president and secretary [Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen] have been very clear that that will not solve our problems now. So, yes, that is a no," Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told CNN on Friday.
White House officials and congressional Republicans aim to put the final touches on a deal to raise the U.S. government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling for two years while capping spending on everything but military and veterans, according to a U.S. official.
Some progressives have called for Biden to invoke the 14th amendment to raise the debt ceiling.
Section 4 of the 14th Amendment says the "validity of the public debt" of the U.S. "authorized by law … shall not be questioned." The section was ratified to ensure the U.S. paid debts incurred during the Civil War.
Biden has said he believes the federal government has the "authority" to do so, though legal action likely would follow quickly.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce last week pushed back against efforts from Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and other progressives to urge Biden to use the 14th Amendment.
"It is the Chamber’s view that attempting to invoke so-called 'powers' under the 14th Amendment would be as economically calamitous as a default by a failure to lift the debt limit in a timely manner," Neil Bradley, the Chamber’s chief policy officer and a former senior aide to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.,wrote in a letter to Biden.
Adeyemo echoed what White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre told reporters during a Thursday press briefing. Jean-Pierre said Congress needs to deal with the debt limit.
"Congress has ability to do that, and the president is calling on them to act on that as quickly as possible," Adeyemo told CNN.
Yellen earlier this month also said "there is no way to protect our financial system and our economy other than Congress doing its job and raising the debt ceiling."
Officials have said the Treasury Department would be unable to pay all of its bills in full and on time as early as June 1.
Reuters contributed to this report.