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.
Up Close: Most Americans have little idea where the national debt stands. Right now, it's more than $31 trillion and is growing by the minute.
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.
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.