Treasury Dept. asks Congress to raise debt ceiling before August to avert default

WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told legislature leaders connected Friday that the U.S. volition apt tally retired of borrowing authorization by August.

In a May 9 letter, helium urged them to widen the indebtedness ceiling by July, earlier Congress leaves for its yearly August recess, successful bid to avert economical calamity.

Bessent said determination is "significant uncertainty" successful the nonstop date.

"However, aft receiving receipts for the caller April taxation filing season, determination is simply a tenable probability that the national government's currency and bonzer measures volition beryllium exhausted successful August portion Congress is scheduled to beryllium successful recess," Bessent wrote. "Therefore, I respectfully impulse Congress to summation oregon suspend the indebtedness bounds by mid-July, earlier its scheduled break, to support the afloat religion and recognition of the United States."

Republicans, who power the House and Senate, program to rise the indebtedness ceiling by $4 trillion oregon $5 trillion successful their sweeping party-line measure to walk President Donald Trump's agenda. That's a gangly order, arsenic the enactment is struggling to unify connected assorted components of that authorities with their constrictive majorities. It's acold from wide they'll walk a measure earlier August.

If they neglect successful that timeline, they whitethorn person to woody with the indebtedness bounds contented separately and thin connected Democratic enactment to resoluteness it and debar an economical situation that would apt effect from a default connected U.S. debt.

“A nonaccomplishment to suspend oregon summation the indebtedness bounds would wreak havoc connected our fiscal strategy and diminish America’s information and planetary enactment position,” Bessent wrote successful the letter.