Yellen urges Congress to raise debt limit, warns Pelosi about extraordinary measures running out soon

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday warned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that the mere specter of a U.S. default can have drastic consequences for U.S. financial markets and urged Democratic leadership to raise or suspend the debt ceiling as soon as possible.

Yellen reiterated that lawmakers have until some point in October before the department exhausts its extended efforts to prevent what would be a historic default.

“A delay that calls into question the federal government’s ability to meet all its obligations would likely cause irreparable damage to the U.S. economy and global financial markets,” Yellen told Pelosi, D-Calif., in a letter dated Wednesday.