Yellen, in a letter to House and Senate leaders, noted that the nation’s debt ceiling — the total amount of money the federal government is authorized to borrow to pay for obligations such as Social Security and Medicare benefits — was suspended in June 2023 but will once again be in effect on Jan. 1.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says her agency will need to start taking “extraordinary measures,” or special accounting maneuvers intended to prevent the nation from hitting the debt ceiling, as early as January 14th,

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Congress on Friday that "extraordinary measures" will be necessary as early as Jan. 14 unless Congress acts to raise or otherwise suspend the debt ceiling. Why it matters: President-elect Trump has voiced support to abolish the debt limit despite some of his supporters historically opposing action to raise the debt ceiling during Democratic administrations.