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U.S. Debt Near $40 T, 126 % GDP, Crisis Looms

7/5/2026

32 3 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

U.S. debt is $39 trillion, about 126 % of GDP, with $1 trillion in annual interest.
Hamilton’s 1790 Funding Act merged Revolutionary War debts into a single national obligation.
President Andrew Jackson cleared the debt in 1835, the only debt-free year, while WWII pushed debt to over $250 billion by 1945, surpassing 100 % of GDP.
The Treasury projects debt will hit $40 trillion by September 2026, and warns that 210 % of GDP may trigger a crisis.

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Story summary

U.S. debt is $39 trillion, about 126 % of GDP, with $1 trillion in annual interest.
Hamilton’s 1790 Funding Act merged Revolutionary War debts into a single national obligation.
President Andrew Jackson cleared the debt in 1835, the only debt-free year, while WWII pushed debt to over $250 billion by 1945, surpassing 100 % of GDP.
The Treasury projects debt will hit $40 trillion by September 2026, and warns that 210 % of GDP may trigger a crisis.