U.S. National Debt Tops $40 Trillion

The Treasury Department reported that total federal debt reached $40.047 trillion, composed of $32.266 trillion held by the public and $7.782 trillion in intragovernmental holdings. For the first nine months of fiscal year 2026 (which began on Oct. 1, 2025), the Treasury recorded a fiscal deficit of $1.367 trillion. Net interest payments during that period totaled $827 billion—exceeding defense outlays of $713 billion and ranking second only to Social Security spending of $1.244 trillion. The debt crossed $30 trillion in Jan. 2022, $39 trillion in Mar. 2026, and $39.7 trillion in Jul. 2026 before breaching the $40-trillion threshold.

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Spending spikes stem from three primary sources: pandemic-related relief programs, recent tax cuts, and heightened military expenditures. The combination of these outlays with persistent budget deficits has pushed the debt higher than many analysts expected, prompting Treasury yields to climb and bond-market concerns to intensify.

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The statement links the debt increase to the administration’s effort to reverse fiscal policies of the prior administration.

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• “The federal debt is already raising the cost of living and choking out other spending and investment, threatening our economy and Americans' long-term prosperity,” — Margaret Spellings, president and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center

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• “Our current fiscal trajectory is plainly unsustainable, and that's the best-case scenario. AI disruption, a recession, global war, or any number of other events could quickly push us over the edge from a challenge into a full-blown crisis,” — Margaret Spellings, president and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center

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• “Forty trillion dollars of debt doesn't exist solely on the government's ledgers; it is felt throughout the economy and finds its way to the pocketbooks of people one way or another,” — Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

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• “Forty trillion dollars should be a wake-up call. But neither Congress nor the president have a credible plan to stop it from growing,” — Carolyn Bourdeaux, executive director of Concord Coalition and Concord Action Fund

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