Janet Yellen Warns of ‘Extraordinary Measures’ as $36,288,567,567,400 National Debt Nears Ceiling

As the debt limit deadline draws near, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is calling on Congress to take action.

According to Yellen’s letter to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, the government would probably hit its debt ceiling in January, mostly due to Medicare payment commitments, necessitating “extraordinary measures” to cover its expenses.

In the past, the Treasury has referred to halting sales of Government Series treasury securities, stopping investments in certain entitlement programs, and using other accounting tricks to keep the government functioning as “extraordinary measures.”

Yellen says,

“Treasury currently expects to reach the new limit between January 14 and January 23 at which time it will be necessary for Treasury to start taking extraordinary measures.

I respectfully urge Congress to act to protect the full faith and credit of the United States”

The US national debt is at $36.28 trillion as of this writing. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the government spent around $1 trillion in fiscal year 2024, which concluded on September 30th of last year, only to pay interest on the debt.

Yellen recently apologized for her inability to improve the US economical position in an interview at the CEO Council Summit hosted by the Wall Street Journal.

“I am concerned about fiscal sustainability, and I am sorry that we haven’t made more progress. I believe that the deficit needs to be brought down, especially now that we’re in an environment of higher interest rates.

For example, over the last year the interest cost of the debt has increased by several hundred billion. It’s one of the largest items responsible for the increase in the budget deficit. And we do need to bring it down. The primary deficit excluding interest is now a little over 3% and I believe it needs to come down.”

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