Lawmakers in October temporarily raised the federal government's
borrowing limit to $28.9 trillion in legislation U.S. President
Joe Biden signed into law, allowing the U.S. Treasury to
continue to pay debts through early December.
Yellen has repeatedly urged Congress to act in a bipartisan
manner to extend the U.S. government's borrowing authority or
else risk dangerous economic consequences.
"Should it be done on a bipartisan basis? Absolutely. Now, if
they’re not going to cooperate, I don’t want to play chicken and
end up not raising the debt ceiling. I think that’s the worst
possible outcome," Yellen told The Washington Post on Sunday as
she traveled to Dublin.
"If Democrats have to do it by themselves, that’s better than
defaulting on the debt to teach the Republicans a lesson," she
added.
Yellen, in a separate interview with Reuters, said the United
States could look at eventually lowering some tariffs on China
in a reciprocal way. She also discusses Biden's expected Federal
Reserve chair appointment and technology companies' potential
support of global tax rules.
The U.S. Treasury chief is in Ireland for a tax policy meeting
before traveling to Scotland for the U.N. climate change
conference.
(Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
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