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The Treasury Department has set a June deadline before default.

As of Thursday morning, the United States government has officially hit the statutory debt limit. This means that, without prompt financial action, the government may default on its debts to other countries, as well as trigger a shutdown.

In an effort to prevent the worst case scenario, the Treasury Department has announced that they will employ “extraordinary measures” to keep the books balanced. However, they have cautioned that these unspecified measures can only work until June, and a proper plan must be established before then to prevent defaulting.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a letter that “the period of time that extraordinary measures may last is subject to considerable uncertainty, including the challenge of forecasting the payments and receipts of the US Government months into the future. I respectfully urge Congress to act promptly to protect the full faith and credit of the United States.”

The obvious solution to this concern is to raise the debt ceiling. However, GOP leader and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy said that neither he nor his party would acquiesce with a raise without spending cuts.

“Let’s change our behavior now. Let’s sit down. He’s the president. We’re the majority in the House. The Democrats are the majority in the Senate. And that’s exactly the way the founders designed Congress to work, find the compromise and find the commonsense compromise that puts us back onto a balanced budget,” McCarthy said earlier this week. McCarthy has made the controversial suggestion of cutting back Medicare and Social Security to fund a ceiling raise.

The US hits the debt ceiling set by Congress, forcing the Treasury Department to start taking extraordinary measures to keep government openhttps://t.co/hgeCDICFDz

— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) January 19, 2023

In response, White House reps have said that there should not need to be conditions to preventing a government shutdown. “We should be dealing with the debt ceiling without — without conditions. It is important. We’re not going to negotiate on this,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

“This is just another attempt by congressional Republicans to force unpopular cuts on programs critical to seniors, the middle class and working families. Congress needs to act and do so quickly. There is no excuse for political brinkmanship.”