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 expects to hit the statutory debt ceiling between January 14 and January 23," Yellen wrote in a letter addressed to House and Senate leadership, at which point extraordinary measures would be used to prevent the government from breaching the nation's debt ceiling – which has been suspended until Jan. 1, 2025.

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.