US may exhaust funds by October 18 unless debt limit raised, Yellen says

The US government is likely to run out of cash on October 18 unless Congress raises the federal borrowing cap, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned yesterday.

After that date, Treasury’s funds “would be depleted quickly” and “it is uncertain whether we could continue to meet all the nation’s commitments after that date,” she said in a letter to congressional leaders.

Yellen again warned of dire consequences if lawmakers fail to act quickly including debt default and undermining the American dollar.

With the clock ticking, Republicans in the US Senate have stubbornly refused to support an increase or suspension of the debt ceiling, despite having pressed for it under their party’s former president Donald Trump.