Treasury begins ‘extraordinary measures’ to avert default as U.S. hits debt limit

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen attends a bilateral meeting with China’s Vice-Premier Liu He, in Zurich, Switzerland on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023. (Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP)The Treasury Department notified Congress Thursday that it’s taking “extraordinary measures” as the federal government reached its legal borrowing capacity of $38.381 trillion.

With no deal in sight between the White House and House Republicans to extend the nation’s borrowing authority, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a letter to Congress that Treasury has begun taking the steps.

The moves include instituting a “debt issuance suspension period” beginning Thursday and running through June 5. Treasury…