Yellen says US will run out of money by June 5 if debt ceiling not raised

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday notified lawmakers the nation will run out of money to pay its bills by June 5 if they do not raise the debt ceiling.

“Based on the most recent available data, we now estimate that Treasury will have insufficient resources to satisfy the government’s obligations if Congress has not raised or suspended the debt limit by June 5,” Yellen wrote to leaders.

The update may offer negotiators who were working with an estimated June 1 “X-date” more breathing room to clinch a deal to raise the debt ceiling, but it also sets a hard deadline.

At the time of Yellen’s letter, leaders had not announced an agreement, after weeks of struggling to overcome key sticking points.