Treasury secretary Janet Yellen, in one of her final major acts in office, warned Congress late Friday that the Treasury will need to begin "extraordinary measures" on Tuesday to avoid hitting the debt limit.

Janet L. Yellen, the outgoing Treasury secretary, urged lawmakers to raise the debt limit and protect the full faith and credit of the United States.

The US Treasury Department says it will take "extraordinary measures" from January 21, so that government debt will not exceed the limit set by law.

In one of her last acts as U.S. Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen said her agency will start taking “extraordinary measures,” or special accounting maneuvers intended to prevent the nation from hitting the debt ceiling,

The breach of the debt ceiling officially starts the clock on how long Trump and Congress will have to act to avoid a financially catastrophic default.

Outgoing Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said her department will start taking special accounting maneuvers as of Jan. 21 to avoid breaching the US debt limit, and urged lawmakers again to take steps to increase or suspend the statutory ceiling.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in a letter on Friday to congressional leaders, said the Treasury would begin using extraordinary measures Jan. 21.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the government will reach its statutory borrowing limit on Tuesday and begin employing "extraordinary measures" to keep from breaching the cap and risking a potential catastrophic default.

A Congressional Budget Office report shows debt closing in on a post-World War II high as a share of GDP.

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, the U.S. government’s fiscal health is bleak, with debt and deficits set to reach record levels.