Yellen warns deal on debt ceiling must be struck by June 5

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday warned that the U.S. government will not be able to pay all of its bills on time if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling by June 5.

In a letter to House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other congressional leaders, she set a more specific deadline for legislators to strike a deal on the limit, which defines the maximum amount of money the government can legally borrow to cover its spending.

Previously, Yellen had estimated the government could run out of money as soon as June 1.

"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," she said.

© Kyodo News