Unless Congress acts in the next couple of weeks, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned, the government will run into its debt limit—which could force "extraordinary measures" to avert defaulting on its debt.

Yellen, in a letter to House and Senate leaders, noted that the nation’s debt ceiling — the total amount of money the federal government is authorized to borrow to pay for obligations such as Social Security and Medicare benefits — was suspended in June 2023 but will once again be in effect on Jan. 1.