Reaching Debt Ceiling Raises Washington Tension

The fact that the United States reached its debt ceiling this morning raises angst in Washington, D.C., The National Journal reports.

The Treasury Department auctioned off the last legally permissible U.S. government debt to the public, Fed Chairman Timothy Geithner reported to Congress. The firm cap of $14,294,000,000,000 on borrowing turned up the heat on simmering fiscal negotiations in Washington, the Journal reported.

Although "market participants did not expect Congress to raise the limit before it was met, which should preclude immediate economic consequences, the milestone moves the discussion of American default from theoretical to increasingly probable," according to the Journal. "Concerns about such a scenario could lead to turmoil in the markets, damaging economic recovery."