The Trump administration and congressional leaders will reach an agreement about the debt ceiling, and the market should not be concerned that the United States will default on its obligations, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday.
"The good news is, we've reached an agreement between the administration, the House and the Senate on top-line numbers for both year one and year two," Mnuchin told CNBC's "Squawk Box." "We're now discussing offsets as well as certain structural issues and we've agreed as a part of that deal, there would be a long-term two-year debt ceiling increase."
Mnuchin said he's been speaking with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi daily about raising the debt ceiling, but meanwhile, "everybody is in agreement that we won't do anything that puts the U.S. government at risk in terms of our issue of defaulting."
Nobody wants a shutdown, he added, and "we'll get there one way or another.
Mnuchin said by the most "conservative scenario," the country could lose its spending ability by early September if an agreement isn't reached, meaning Treasury would not be able to make payments on its $22 trillion debt load.
All people involved in the talks are aware of what will happen if a deal isn't reached, said Mnuchin, who has encouraged congressional leaders to raise the debt ceiling before leaving on their August recess, which begins July 26.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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