Treasury Buys Time For Biden & GOP On Debt Limit Deal

January 20, 2023 4:13 am

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department says it has started taking “extraordinary measures” as the government has run up against its legal borrowing capacity of $31.381 trillion. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sent a letter to congressional leaders Thursday urging them to act to raise the debt limit. Friction between President Joe Biden and House Republicans is raising concerns about whether the U.S. can sidestep an economic crisis. Markets so far remain calm, as the government can temporarily rely on accounting tweaks to stay open. That means any threats to the economy are several months away. But this particular moment seems more fraught than past brushes with the debt limit.