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 the three-day Memorial Day weekend, and as 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” it has been employing since January to stretch existing funds.