WASHINGTON — In one of her last acts as Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen said her agency will start taking “extraordinary measures,” or special accounting maneuvers intended to prevent the nation from hitting the debt ceiling, on January 21 in a letter sent to congressional leaders Friday afternoon.
She sent a letter in late December to lawmakers stating that Treasury expected to hit the statutory debt ceiling between January 14 and January 23. And now, the agency will stop paying into certain accounts, including the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund and the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund, to make up for the shortfall in money beginning Tuesday.
The move comes during the switchover of administrations, where President-elect Donald Trump takes over control of the White House and federal agencies from President Joe Biden on Monday. Yellen will be out of office when the extraordinary measures take effect.