The total debt of the 🇺🇸 United States has exceeded $40 trillion for the first time, according to an update released by the Department of the Treasury on Wednesday.
The rapid increase in US debt, particularly during President Donald Trump’s second term, which began in January last year, has intensified concerns over a potential fiscal crisis. Economists have warned that heavy borrowing combined with higher spending and tax cuts could create serious problems for the world’s largest economy.
The surge in federal debt has occurred despite Trump making government cost reduction and efficiency central to his second term. The nongovernmental Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has eliminated between 250,000 and 350,000 federal jobs and reduced global aid since the beginning of last year.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had previously projected in May 2023 that US debt would reach $40 trillion in 2028.
Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), a budget watchdog, said in a statement, “$40 trillion 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.”
