The Trump administration is letting Congress know that it will begin taking steps next week to keep the government from an unprecedented default on the national debt.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says in a letter to lawmakers that he will employ measures to avoid breaching the borrowing limit once the current suspension of the limit expires on March 16.
Once that happens, Treasury will use a variety of bookkeeping manoeuvrs to continue to finance government operations, including making interest payments on the national debt. However, those measures will be exhausted by the fall. Mnuchin said Congress should raise the debt limit "at the first opportunity."
Republicans sought to use must-pass legislation to raise the borrowing limit as leverage to force the Obama administration to impose greater controls on spending.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.