The sell-off on Wall Street coincided with a surge in bond yields, which in turn raised the cost of U.S. borrowing and stoked investor fears about the wider impact across the economy.
The debt limit negotiations between GOP negotiators and the White House ended Friday night with no progress after meeting for roughly an hour and a half.
The extraordinary measures will buy Congress some time -- Secretary Yellen said it's unlikely the government will exhaust its cash and the emergency maneuvers before early June, though she noted there is "considerable uncertainty" around that forecast.
The crux of the case is whether the Department of Education has the statutory authority to do this.
If the U.S. government cannot pay its bills, millions of Americans would feel a direct economic impact.
In short, probably not. But it is an emergency idea that pops up each time Congress threatens to let America run out of money.