A majority opinion written by Clarence Thomas forcing the US into default is certainly the funniest possible outcome to the #DebtLimit fight
That's not how that would work, though.
The Supreme Court in the judicial branch can't order the Treasury in the executive branch not to pay debts.
That's really up to the president as head of that branch.
@volkris You are correct. That is how things are supposed to work and is how any reasonable person would interpret the constitution.
However, unreasonable people are currently in the majority on the Supreme Court and might have a different interpretation which could lead to a constitutional crisis.
Unlikely! But an interesting thought experiment.
But it doesn't matter. No matter how reasonable or unreasonable the Supreme Court may be, they just don't have the authority to order around the Treasury as that exists in the executive branch.
There would be no constitutional crisis. The order lacking authority would simply go in the trash can, and that would be that.
