A number of progressive voices are coming forward to argue that Pres. Joe Biden has no choice but to invoke the 14th Amendment to avoid default if no debt limit deal is reached, or he will violate the Constitution.

Until now, Democrats have only argued that the 14th Amendment is something Biden can “invoke,” as House Democrats did in a letter last week. But now some progressives are saying it’s not a choice – that the 14th Amendment, which says U.S. debt “shall not be questioned,” means Biden will violate the Constitution if he lets the nation default on its debts.

Federal employees have already filed suit – with a hearing set for Wednesday – arguing that Biden must ignore the debt ceiling if that’s what it takes to keep paying them.

But now a leading progressive organization, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), and at least one progressive congressional candidate are joining in, telling TYT that the Constitution forbids Biden from allowing a default, even if Republicans refuse to raise the legal ceiling capping America’s borrowing.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Congress in a letter Friday that the U.S. is estimated to have “insufficient resources to satisfy the government’s obligations” after June 5 – a few extra days past the previous estimate that the government could run out of money as early as Thursday.

On Friday, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told reporters that the president will not use the amendment to stave off a default.

Also Friday, however, PCCC Co-Founder Stephanie Taylor said in a press release, “[T]he President has an obligation to ignore the unconstitutional debt ceiling and uphold his responsibilities under the 14th Amendment to pay our nation's bills."

Fellow PCCC Co-Founder Adam Green told TYT he agrees that the 14th Amendment justifies ignoring the debt ceiling but stopped short of saying it obliges Biden to do so. Green suggested that Biden’s hesitation to invoke it now likely comes down to timing.

Biden still may see a good deal possible with McCarthy, Green said, and turning to the 14th Amendment prematurely could “freak out the markets,” potentially triggering an economic downturn.

“I think their preference is [to] keep the 14th Amendment in their back pocket with some internal uncertainty about how they would use it if we get to the brink, but try to get a deal beforehand,” Green told TYT, noting that typically “everything happens in those final 48 hours.

Tom Wells, a self-described progressive candidate for Florida’s 3rd congressional district, first advanced the argument that Biden cannot choose the 14th Amendment but is bound by it in an email to TYT. “Not only can President Biden finesse the Debt Ceiling boogeyman, he is required to do so by his oath to the Constitution,” Wells told TYT.

Wells said, “Furthermore, by their own oaths to the Constitution, neither Congress nor the Supreme Court can legitimately act to oppose this.”

Use of the 14th Amendment is gaining legitimacy in the House. Reportedly, the deal emerging between Biden and McCarthy could alienate so many House Republicans that as many as 100 Democratic votes would be needed to pass it. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) this week pointed out that just five Republicans are needed to support a clean debt-ceiling hike.

House Democrats in their June 19 letter to Biden objected to the “anti-democratic hostage-taking” of Republicans demanding spending cuts in order to avoid default and global economic turmoil. In the statement, they urged Biden to use the 14th Amendment to bypass House Republicans entirely and prevent their proposed steep cuts to social services that would harm millions of people in need and compromise climate and environmental justice initiatives.

Biden has said he may consider invoking the 14th Amendment but expressed doubts over his ability to surmount likely legal challenges in time if he did. Members of the Biden administration have said it wouldn’t solve the current problem of raising the debt limit.

Those arguments, however, came before the emerging progressive argument that Biden doesn’t get to choose.

At stake is not just the possibility of default, but the possibility of damaging spending cuts Biden could agree to in order to appease Republicans.

Under the Republican agenda, millions of low-income families would face food and housing insecurity with steep cuts to programs including housing assistance as well as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid, both of which would be subject to additional bureaucratic hurdles that would likely thin their rolls of even eligible recipients.

Proposed Republican changes to the permitting processes for energy projects would gut the legal rights that give communities input on both green and fossil fuel energy projects, and guarantee the completion of the hotly contested Mountain Valley Pipeline.

Although McCarthy sent the House home for the Memorial Day weekend, debt-limit talks are continuing, with sources on both sides reportedly optimistic that a deal to avoid default is close.

TYT Washington Correspondent Candice Cole was previously a correspondent and senior White House producer for the Black News Channel and has worked at a number of local news outlets. You can find her on Twitter @CandiceColeNews.