Yellen again warns of June 1 deadline to avert default

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reiterated on Monday that the nation faces a June 1 deadline to reach an agreement to avert a national default.

"We still estimate that Treasury will likely no longer be able to satisfy all of the government’s obligations if Congress has not acted to raise or suspend the debt limit by early June, and potentially as early as June 1," she wrote to lawmakers on Monday, according to The Hill. 

In early May, she warned lawmakers of a June 1 deadline amid the ongoing standoff between House Republicans and the White House over raising the debt ceiling.

The Treasury "will be unable to continue to satisfy all of the government’s obligations... [in] early June, and potentially as early as June 1, if Congress does not raise or suspend the debt limit before that time," she wrote at the time.

The U.S. hit its $31.38 trillion spending limit in January of this year, forcing Yellen to resort to "extraordinary measures" to pay the nation's bills in the meantime.

Republicans have sought to pair any increase to the debt ceiling with caps to spending growth in order to address the mounting national debt, whereas Democrats have advocated for a clean increase to the limit.

The House previously passed a Republican plan to extend the limit by one year and impose caps on spending growth. President Joe Biden has vowed to veto the plan should it reach his desk.

Congressional leaders and Biden met last week to discuss the issue, though McCarthy indicated that the meeting saw "no new movement" on the matter.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.