Timer set on debt ceiling showdown

By Joseph Lawler, Joseph Lawler

Published December 20, 2015

The timer is officially set on the debt ceiling.

The U.S. will hit the debt limit Monday morning as the temporary reprieve passed by Congress last February expires at midnight Sunday.

The national debt was $17.2 trillion when the ceiling was suspended, and the new ceiling is the current level of debt: $18.1 trillion.

There is no immediate need to raise the ceiling. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew can use several tools to make sure the government pays its bills on time until sometime this fall.