Here’s who misses checks if the U.S. hits the debt brink in June

If the U.S. defaults on its debt for the first time ever, tens of billions of dollars in Social Security benefits, federal salaries, payments to Medicaid providers, veterans’ benefits and more could all be at risk.

The Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank that specializes in predicting the “X-date” for when the government officially can’t pay its bills, said Tuesday the U.S. could default on its $31.4 trillion debt between early June and early August, jeopardizing payments to millions of Americans and businesses.

Its latest dire projection — delivered hours before President Joe Biden and congressional leaders meet at the White House — follows Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s warning last week that the nation could run out of money as soon as June 1, dramatically shortening the timeline for lawmakers to lift the borrowing cap even as the two parties remain deeply at odds over how.