Pelosi says proposal to take debt ceiling authority away from Congress 'has merit'

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Tuesday she thinks a bill that would transfer the authority to raise the debt limit from Congress to the Treasury secretary "has merit."

Pelosi's support for shifting the near-annual responsibility of ensuring the U.S. doesn't default on its debts comes as a growing number of Democrats in recent weeks have endorsed abolishing the debt limit in its current form.

House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) and Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) introduced a bill late last month that would vest the responsibility of raising the debt limit with the Treasury secretary.