US to hit debt ceiling Tuesday, starting Congress’ countdown clock

(CNN) — The nation will hit its roughly $36 trillion debt limit on Tuesday, when the Treasury Department will start taking extraordinary measures to allow the government to pay its bills, outgoing Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a letter to congressional leaders on Friday. The notice comes just three days before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.Reaching the cap ramps up pressure on congressional Republicans, but lawmakers have a little time before they must act to avoid a first-ever default, which would likely cause global economic upheaval. The extraordinary measures, which are mainly behind-the-scenes accounting maneuvers, will continue through March 14, Yellen wrote.Although Republicans control Capitol Hill, they remain divided over how to address the debt ceiling. They have several major agenda items they want to push through Congress along party lines, including border security, energy and tax cuts, possibly in one package or two. Plus, lawmakers still must pass a government funding bill for fiscal year 2025, which began October 1. (A temporary spending measure expires on March 14.)A bill to increase or suspend the debt ceiling could be included in one of these packages, though addressing the cap has been a bipartisan effort in recent years.House Speaker Mike...