Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has confirmed to congressional leaders that the deadline to pass a debt ceiling increase and avoid the United States defaulting on its obligations is early June.
In a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Yellen doubled down on her previous prediction that the U.S. could default as soon as June 1 without an increase in the debt ceiling being agreed to.
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“With an additional week of information now available, I am writing to note that we estimate that it is highly likely that Treasury will no longer be able to satisfy all of the government’s obligations if Congress has not acted to raise or suspend the debt limit by early June, and potentially as early as June 1,” Yellen wrote.
“These estimates are based on currently available data, and federal receipts, outlays, and debt could vary from these estimates. I will continue to update Congress as more information becomes available,” she added.
Yellen also stressed the importance of raising the debt ceiling, saying it would “cause severe hardship” to citizens if the U.S. defaults on its debts.
“If Congress fails to increase the debt limit, it would cause severe hardship to American families, harm our global leadership position, and raise questions about our ability to defend our national security interests,” Yellen said.
“I continue to urge Congress to protect the full faith and credit of the United States by acting as soon as possible,” she added.
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McCarthy is scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden at 5:30 p.m. Monday as talks between the two sides continue amid frustrations.
The speaker has also entertained the idea of canceling the chamber’s Memorial Day recess to get a resolution to the debt ceiling passed before the beginning of June.
