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Top Republican Says Bondholders Must Come First

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House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-TX) told Punchbowl News that the U.S. Constitution requires the country to keep paying its bondholders even if the U.S. breaches the debt ceiling, thanks to a clause in the 14th amendment that says the federal debt “shall not be questioned.”

That would mean the government would need to prioritize interest payments to bondholders over other spending.

About Political Wire

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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