Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Says US Debt Limit Is On ‘Warning Track:’ ‘The Wall’s Not Far Away’

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a stark reminder on Tuesday, saying that the U.S. debt limit is on the “warning track.”

Bessent made the remarks while answering questions at the House Appropriations Committee, noting that the Treasury is still tallying the tax revenue collections.

Bessent said while the Trump administration’s estimate about the timeline of the U.S. government hitting the debt ceiling is “forthcoming,” the bill will eventually come due.

“Just as an outfielder running for a fly ball, we are on the warning track,” Bessent said in his testimony, according to a report by Politico.

“And when you’re on the warning track, it means the wall’s not far away.”

The U.S. federal debt ceiling, currently at $36.1 trillion, was reinstated on Jan. 2, after former President Joe Biden’s debt ceiling suspension ended on Dec. 31, 2024. The suspension began on Jan. 19, 2023, as a part of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.

President Donald Trump has supported the idea of eliminating the debt ceiling.

While concerns about the U.S. hitting the debt ceiling are being debated, Philip Swagel, head of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, estimates it should last late into the summer.

“We still have it as late in the summer — into August, into September,” Swagel said, speaking on the sidelines of the Milken Institute Global Conference, according to Bloomberg.

He noted that while there is a possibility that the timeline for hitting the debt ceiling could come forward, the CBO is currently “comfortable” with its late summer projections.

The date when the debt ceiling limit could be hit is also known as the X-date.

Amid these concerns, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was down 0.60%.

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