Treasury to likely exhaust 'extraordinary measures' in weeks -Yellen

"At that point, we expect Treasury would be left with very limited resources that would be depleted quickly," Yellen told congressional leaders on Tuesday.

The Treasury had already enacted "extraordinary measures" to keep government funds flowing after the debt ceiling was reached over the summer. But those measures will run out in about 20 days, although the exact date could vary, Yellen said.

A sharply divided U.S. Senate failed on Monday to advance a measure to suspend the federal debt ceiling and avoid a partial government shutdown, as Republican lawmakers denied the bill the votes necessary to move forward.