Skip to content
Navigating a New Political Landscape: View real-time updates about the impact of and Northeastern’s response to recent political changes.
Apply
Stories

What is the U.S. debt ceiling—and why do we keep hitting it?

People in this story

The U.S. hit the debt ceiling on Thursday, sending the federal government into a scramble to avoid a default scenario akin to a “global financial crisis,” as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen described in a letter to Congress this week. Established more than a century ago, the debt ceiling is currently capped at $31.4 trillion. It is the legal limit the U.S. government is allowed to borrow to continue paying for its existing programs and obligations, including, but not limited to, “Social Security and Medicare benefits, military salaries, interest on the national debt, tax refunds, and other payments,” Yellen wrote.

After informing Congress that the U.S. has reached that statutory limit, Yellen said the government is taking “extraordinary measures” to avoid the catastrophic economic and financial fallout that would follow a default. This puts pressure on lawmakers, who have to come up with some sort of package to raise the debt limit while agreeing on certain cuts to spending.

Continue reading at Northeastern Global News.

More Stories

The relationships fans form with fictional characters can be powerful – and problematic -if taken to an extreme, Northeastern experts say. Photo by Liane Hentscher/HBO

Why are fans upset about ‘The Last of Us’ season two? Experts say it tests the limits of fandom and parasocial relationships

04.20.2025
President Donald Trump, left, greets Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, outside the White House on Monday, April 14, 2025.

Did Donald Trump defy a Supreme Court order to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia?

04.15.2025
Pope Francis, the first Vatican leader from a Latin American country, died at age 88 Monday. Photo by Giuseppe Ciccia /Sipa via AP Images

What is the legacy of Pope Francis — and the future of the Catholic Church

04.21.25
All Stories