US could default this summer unless $31.4tn debt ceiling raised | First Thing

Historic federal debt default could occur before July, cautions non-partisan agency. Plus, whatever happened to middle age?

Good morning.

The Congressional Budget Office yesterday said the US Department of the Treasury will exhaust its ability to pay all its bills sometime between July and September, unless the $31.4tn cap on borrowing is raised or suspended.

What else is happening? Separately, the CBO said annual US budget deficits would be, on average, $2tn between 2024 and 2033, approaching Covid-era records by the end of the decade – a forecast likely to stoke Republican demands for spending cuts. Meanwhile, the CBO estimated an unemployment rate of 4.7% this year, far above the current 3.4%.

What’s the justification for thwarting the attempt? Citing unspecified future threats to the ability of law enforcement to investigate crime, Maggie Cleary, Youngkin’s deputy secretary of public safety, told the courts of justice subcommittee it was not the legislature’s responsibility to restrict the scope of search warrants.

What do campaigners say? “The Youngkin administration’s opposition to this commonsense privacy protection measure shows his real intentions, to ban abortion and criminalize patients and medical providers,” said Tarina Keene, the executive director of Repro Rising Virginia.