The U.S. has surpassed its $31.4 trillion debt limit, leading the Treasury Department to implement extraordinary measures.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen notified Congressional leadership Thursday morning that she would begin implementing stopgap options to keep the government funded and avoid default. However, she has stressed the measures can only be used for a limited amount of time, likely through June.
Yellen has said it’s critical Congress act in a timely manner, warning that failure to address the debt ceiling would cause irreparable harm to the U.S. economy.
"I respectfully urge Congress to act promptly to protect the full faith and credit of the United States," Yellen wrote in Thursday’s letter to congressional leaders.
Republicans, led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, are looking to use the additional time to negotiate with Democrats; they are hoping to cut spending in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. But, Democrats are so far refusing to make concessions.
"It is something that should be done without concessions. We should not be negotiating around it," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday. "It is the basic duty of Congress to get that done."
New Census figures show about 1 in every 100 U.S. households is a same-sex couple.
Dr. Caitlin Bernard is facing disciplinary action after she spoke publicly about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim.
Oath Keepers extremist group founder Stewart Rhodes was sentenced on Thursday to 18 years in prison for orchestrating a weekslong plot that culminated in his followers attacking the U.S. Capitol in a bid to keep President Joe Biden out of the White House after winning the 2020 election.
Lawmakers in several states are embracing legislation to let children work in more hazardous occupations, longer hours on school nights and in expanded roles including serving alcohol in bars and restaurants as young as 14.
An Arkansas man who propped his feet on a desk in then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office in a widely circulated photo from the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced Wednesday to more than four years in prison.
The rollout of his campaign Wednesday made clear that, at least for the time being, DeSantis intends to leave the dirty work of attacking Trump to his allies.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has accused House Speaker Dade Phelan of being intoxicated during a legislative session and called for his resignation.
State attorneys general from around the country are teaming up to stop a company that's accused of making billions of robocalls.
Families are marking the one-year anniversary of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that left 19 children and two teachers.
Montana has become the first state to specifically ban people dressed in drag from reading books to children at public schools and libraries, part of a host of legislation aimed at the rights the LGBTQ+ community in Montana and other states.
