U.S. likely to hit debt limit X-date in August, Treasury says

The Treasury Department said Friday it would likely run out of cash to pay the nation’s bills by August, setting a new, firmer deadline for Congress to act to avoid a catastrophic default on the United States’ more-than $36 trillion debt.

That date could also become the new, de facto deadline for congressional Republicans to pass their megabill of tax cuts, border security investments and energy policy, assuming leadership sticks with its plan to approve a $5 trillion debt limit hike as part of that package.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote in a letter to congressional leaders that “there is a reasonable probability” the government's cash “will be exhausted in August while Congress is scheduled to be in recess,” urging Congress to increase or suspend the debt limit by mid-July “to protect the full faith and credit of the United States.”