What happens if the U.S. breaks through its debt ceiling?

Uncle Sam.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Getty Images)

At some point in the very near future the United States will hit its $31.4 trillion debt limit, the statutory threshold which limits the country's borrowing ability to pay back its existing debt. While nobody knows exactly when that limit will be breached, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's recent letter to congressional leaders claimed the ceiling could be broken as early as January 19th. The letter sent the government into overdrive to address the looming crisis before, as Yellen warned, the Treasury Department becomes forced to take "certain extraordinary measures to prevent the United States from defaulting on its obligations" sometime this summer.

What happens if the nation does indeed burst through its self-imposed debt limit? Put simply: nothing good.

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Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.