Yellen urges Congress to act ahead of Jan. 19 debt limit deadline

Janet Yellen.
(Image credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. is expected to reach its debt limit on Thursday, Jan. 19, at which point it will need to employ "extraordinary measures" to avoid default, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Congress on Friday, per The Associated Press.

In a letter to congressional leaders, Yellen said its "critical that Congress act in a timely manner" to either suspend the debt limit or raise it, and that failure to do so "would cause irreparable harm to the U.S. economy, the livelihoods of all Americans, and global financial stability." She is unsure how long exactly she'll be able to stave off default, but "it is unlikely that cash and extraordinary measures will be exhausted before early June," she added.

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Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.