X marks the spot: Yellen tells Congress US could run out of money to pay all its bills by June 5

By FATIMA HUSSEIN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has told Congress that the U.S. could default on its debt obligations by June 5 if lawmakers do not act in time to raise the federal debt ceiling. That’s four days later than previously estimated. Yellen’s letter Friday to legislators comes as Congress breaks for a long weekend, and tensions build over whether a deal between the White House and Republicans in Congress will be struck in time. The so-called “X-date” arrives when the government no longer has enough of a financial cushion to pay all its bills, having exhausted the “extraordinary measures” that it has been employing since January to stretch existing funds.