The United States’ total national debt has passed $40 trillion for the first time, according to Treasury Department data shared on Wednesday. The figure has doubled from $19.95 trillion in January 2017, when Donald Trump began his first presidential term.
The increase has been driven by borrowing under both Trump and President Joe Biden, including pandemic-response spending. Concerns are growing that government spending is outpacing revenue and worsening the country’s fiscal pressures.
How the debt reached the threshold
About one-third of the increase since January 2017 occurred in the two years after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020. The US borrowed heavily under Trump and Biden to fund the pandemic response and subsequent recovery.
Debt increased by $8.4 trillion during Biden’s term, including spending on infrastructure, clean-energy subsidies and other priorities. Since Trump returned to office in January 2025, the debt load has risen by $3.8 trillion, contributing to $11.6 trillion in growth across his two terms so far.
Deficits and interest costs are adding pressure
The Treasury reported a $432bn deficit in July, the fourth-highest monthly deficit in US history. Tariff refunds ordered after court decisions pushed customs receipts into negative territory for a third consecutive month, while Social Security and Medicare payments continued to grow.
The deficit during the first 10 months of fiscal 2026 has already exceeded the full-year gap recorded in fiscal 2025, with two months remaining in the current fiscal year. Interest on federal borrowing is also rising: the government is spending about $1.1 trillion on debt service annually, and interest costs exceeded Pentagon funding in fiscal 2025.
What the spending mix means
The US spends roughly $7 trillion each year, with about 60 percent allocated to mandatory programmes such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans’ care. These costs generally rise with living expenses, while payroll and income-tax revenue has not covered federal spending.
Interest costs became the second-largest federal budget line in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, behind Social Security and ahead of Medicare. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act will add another $4.7 trillion to federal debt.
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