President Donald Trump signed a continuing resolution to fund the government through Dec. 22, as the Treasury Department began using "extraordinary measures" to keep the government from exceeding its debt limit.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin wrote a letter to congressional leaders this week notifying them he would begin using "extraordinary measures" at noon on Friday, Dec. 8, according to the Associated Press.
"As I have said previously, honoring the full faith and credit of the United States is a critical commitment," Mnuchin wrote, according to the AP. "I encourage Congress to raise the debt limit at the first opportunity so that we can proceed with our joint priorities."
The Congressional Budget Office said in a report published last month that the Treasury Department could run out of cash by the spring of 2018, while stating that, if the debt ceiling were not raised before Dec. 9, "the Treasury will have no room to borrow other than to replace maturing debt."
A group of House Republicans told the Wall Street Journal that they would consider a debt ceiling hike that runs at least through the 2018 midterm elections to the next omnibus spending bill. Such a maneuver may allow the government to avoid a default in the spring without putting members running for re-election in the position of having to vote to raise the debt limit, an action that is often unpopular with voters, the Journal noted.
