Abstract
The inviolability of America’s $30 trillion debt is a cornerstone of global markets and the U.S. economy. This Essay identifies a critical loophole: the President’s underappreciated power to dramatically change its legal structure—and argues that Congress should act to prevent a potential catastrophe.
The Essay details, for the first time in the literature, the arcane legal architecture underpinning America’s sovereign borrowings. Our analysis finds that although the President lacks authority to change the terms of outstanding debt retroactively, the President can accomplish similar goals by issuing new debt instruments that embed unprecedented powers. In surprisingly short order, a determined Executive could reconstitute much of the national debt to that Executive’s liking, and in the process, usurp congressional power over the purse. To safeguard the separation of powers and prevent any President from unilaterally engineering a global debt crisis, Congress should act now.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-2026
Publication Information
174 University of Pennsylvania Law Review Online 60-86 (2026)
Repository Citation
Breydo, Lev E. and Oman, Nathan B., "Levers of Default: Can the President Unilaterally Alter the Terms of the National Debt?" (2026). Faculty Publications. 2439.
https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs/2439