The U.S. is on track to run out of money to pay its bills as early as August without congressional action, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned Friday .
He is calling on Congress to either raise or suspend the debt ceiling by mid-July.
"A failure to suspend or increase the debt limit would wreak havoc on our financial system and diminish America's security and global leadership position," Bessent wrote in the letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson. "Prior episodes have shown that waiting until the last minute to suspend or increase the debt limit can have serious adverse consequences for financial markets, businesses and the federal government."
Earlier this week, Bessent twice testified in front of congressional committees that the Treasury's debt ceiling is "on the warning track."
After the debt limit was reinstated in January, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen - in one of her last acts in the position - said the agency would institute "extraordinary measures" intended to prevent the U.S. from reaching the debt ceiling.