U.S. will hit its debt limit Thursday, start taking steps to avoid default, Yellen warns Congress

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday notified Congress that the U.S. will reach its statutory debt limit next Thursday.
After that, the Treasury Department this month will begin “taking certain extraordinary measures to prevent the United States from defaulting on its obligations,” Yellen wrote in a letter to new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
The Treasury “is not currently able” to estimate how long those emergency actions will allow the U.S. to pay for government obligations, she wrote.
But, “It is unlikely that cash and extraordinary measures will be exhausted before early June,” Yellen added.
She warned McCarthy that it is “critical that Congress act in a timely manner to increase or suspend the debt limit.”
“Failure to meet the government’s obligations would cause irreparable harm to the U.S. economy, the livelihoods of all Americans, and global financial stability,” Yellen wrote.
“I respectfully urge Congress to act promptly to protect the full faith and credit of the United States.”
A spokeswoman for McCarthy had no immediate comment on Yellen’s letter.