Debt ceiling negotiations reach critical deadline on June 5.

The US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, has set a hard deadline of June 5 for Congress to act on the debt ceiling, giving negotiators a few more days to reach a deal. The Treasury Department has been using "extraordinary measures" to pay the country's bills since hitting the statutory borrowing limit in January. The two parties are still stuck on several issues, including work requirements for federal benefits, unspent Covid relief funds, and overhauling permitting for infrastructure and energy projects. Yellen warned that failure to increase the debt limit would cause severe hardship to American families, harm the country's global leadership position, and raise questions about its ability to defend national security interests.