The U.S. government is in a race against time. With less than three weeks left, the country is on the verge of reaching its debt limit, and if Congress doesn’t step in soon, it could spell trouble for federal operations. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sounded the alarm on Friday, saying that by mid-January, the government might need to take “extraordinary measures” to keep things running.
Yellen’s letter to Congress highlighted that the government is running out of funds to pay its debts, and while these “extraordinary measures” could buy Congress some time, the clock is ticking. She urged lawmakers to take swift action to protect the U.S. economy.
What’s at stake here? If the debt limit isn’t raised, the consequences could be severe, even shaking the global economy. The U.S. has never defaulted on its debts before, and this would be uncharted territory.
In recent talks, President Joe Biden and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached a deal to suspend the debt limit until 2023, but now, the situation is more complex. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) has a tough job ahead—either cutting a deal with Democrats to raise the limit or risking a showdown that could threaten his leadership.
It’s crunch time, and whether the debt limit gets lifted or not could have massive consequences for the future. Will Congress step up before it’s too late?
