WASHINGTON, May 1 (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury warned on Monday that the federal government could run short of cash to pay all of its bills as soon as June 1 without a debt limit increase, adding urgency to a bitter fiscal fight between congressional Republicans and Democrats and the White House.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a letter to Congress that the agency will be unlikely to meet all U.S. government payment obligations “by early June, and potentially as early as June 1” without action by Congress.
The new potential “X-date,” which takes into account April tax receipts, is largely unchanged from a previous estimate, issued in January, that the government could run short of cash around June 5. But Yellen also added some wiggle room.
“Federal receipts and outlays are inherently variable, and the actual date that Treasury exhausts extraordinary measures could be a…
