Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asked congressional leaders Thursday to raise the debt ceiling, just one week before the limit is set to be reinstated.
“I encourage Congress to raise the debt limit at the first opportunity so that we can proceed with our joint priorities,” Mnuchin said in a letter addressed to House Speaker Paul Ryan and other leaders.
In the brief letter, Mnuchin did not mention whether Congress should attach any sort of legislation to a vote to raise the debt ceiling.
On leaving office, former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew called on Congress to “de-weaponize” the debt ceiling, arguing that it shouldn’t be used as a tool in negotiations.
Having been suspended under former President Barack Obama, the debt ceiling is set to be reinstated on March 16 at about $20 trillion.
The Treasury won’t be able to issue any debt above that amount. It does, though, have the ability to shift around government accounts to free up space under the debt ceiling, a process known as “extraordinary measures.”
The Congressional Budget Office estimated this week that the Treasury has enough extraordinary measures to make all incoming payments until sometime in the fall. At some point, which could coincide with a fight over funding the government, the government will not be able to make all payments on time and in full.
The threat of missing a payment, especially one on interest or principal on the debt, is a serious one for financial markets and has played a key role in giving Congress leverage over the presidency in recent years.
