Yellen Says Congress Risks Creating a Self-Made Crisis With ‘Unthinkable’ Debt Default

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen delivers remarks in Washington, on Feb. 9, 2023. Leah Millis/Reuters

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen accused the Republican-controlled House of creating a self-made crisis over its stance on the debt ceiling.

Yellen, who was attending a Group of Seven (G7) conference in Niigata, Japan, called on Congress to raise the $31.4 trillion federal debt limit to avert a U.S. government default that would trigger a global economic crisis and undermine the strength of the world’s largest economy.

The secretary issued prepared remarks at a press conference ahead of her meeting with her counterparts from the G7 nations on May 10, along with India, Indonesia, and Brazil.

The Treasury Department has warned the U.S. government could default as soon as June 1 without a deal.

“A default would threaten the gains that we’ve worked so hard to make over the past few years in our pandemic recovery. And it would spark a global downturn that would set us back much further,” said Yellen.

“It would also risk undermining U.S. global economic leadership and raise questions about our ability to defend our national security interests.”