Treasury Unable to Prioritize Bill Payment If Debt Ceiling Reached, Say Former Officials

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen attends a meeting with South Korean Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho at Lotte Hotel in Seoul, South Korea, on July 19, 2022. Chung Sung-Jun/Pool via Reuters

Former U.S. Treasury officials have said there is no way to prioritize which bills would get paid first in the event that the United States reached its statutory debt ceiling.

Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) asked U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen whether the Treasury now has the capability to prioritize bill payments if the government can no longer borrow money to pay its bills.