NAGE Files Lawsuit Against Treasury Secretary Yellen to Prevent Government Default on Debts

The National Association of Government Employees (NAGE), a union representing nearly 75,000 federal government employees, has filed a lawsuit against Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts. The lawsuit seeks an injunction that would prevent the government from defaulting on its debts due to the current debt limit.

The debt limit, also known as the “debt ceiling,” is a cap on the amount of money the federal government can borrow to pay for congressionally approved spending. The lawsuit claims that the union’s workers are “at immediate and imminent risk of layoff or furlough” if congressional Republicans cannot reach a deal with President Joe Biden to increase the government’s borrowing limit.

Experts warn that defaulting on the public debt could have disastrous consequences for the national economy and financial system. NAGE is asking the court to declare the debt limit unconstitutional and to issue an injunction that would prevent the government from defaulting on its debts.

NAGE President David J. Holway said in a statement that the union is “fighting to protect the economic security of our members and their families.” He added that the debt limit “is an arbitrary and unnecessary limit on the government’s ability to pay its bills, and it puts our members’ jobs and livelihoods at risk.”

The lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal challenges to the debt limit. The Biden administration has yet to comment on the lawsuit, but it is likely to face opposition from congressional Republicans, who have long argued that the debt limit should be used as leverage to force spending cuts.