The national debt of the United States surpassed 40 trillion dollars for the first time in history on Wednesday, according to data from the Treasury Department, doubling the figure recorded in 2017.
According to the latest daily Treasury balance, total public debt stood at 40.047 trillion dollars on August 19. Of that amount, 32.266 trillion corresponds to Treasury securities held by the public and 7.782 trillion to debt between government agencies.
The federal debt has more than doubled in less than a decade, from the 19.95 trillion dollars registered when Donald Trump first assumed the Presidency in January 2017.
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Approximately one third of that increase occurred during the two years of heavy borrowing to finance the response to the Covid-19 pandemic under the administrations of Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The accelerated growth of the debt has ignited new alarms about the fiscal situation of the country.
NEW: US national debt tops $40 trillion, crossing 39T to $40T in about five months, and now exceeds size of entire US economy pic.twitter.com/hzyaRBDTuh
— Rapid Report (@RapidReport2025) August 19, 2026
Debt Crisis Warning
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget warned that if Congress does not address the imbalance between income and spending through tax increases, spending cuts, or a combination of both measures, the United States could be heading toward a debt crisis. The president of that organization, Maya MacGuineas, highlighted that the debt reached 40 trillion less than five months after surpassing 39 trillion. “The more we borrow, the more we exacerbate inflation, displace other budget priorities, and remain vulnerable to domestic emergencies and turbulence abroad,” she warned.
The deterioration of public accounts is also reflected in the deficit. In July it reached 432 billion dollars, the fourth largest monthly deficit in the country’s history, while the accumulated deficit for the first ten months of fiscal year 2026 already exceeds that registered during the entire previous fiscal year. The pressure of spending on social programs is compounded by the growing cost of financing the debt.
The United States allocates around 1.1 trillion dollars to interest payments, and in the first ten months of the current fiscal year, that disbursement exceeded Medicare and became the second largest item in the federal budget, behind only Social Security. Economists point out that the combination of persistent deficits, rising interest rates, and an aging population creates a structural dynamic that complicates the fiscal outlook in the medium term.
US President Trump said Americans should not be concerned about bond market volatility, as Treasury yields climbed amid worries over the country’s fiscal outlook and the war with Iran https://t.co/MaCH3iwTBs pic.twitter.com/G9bxzMW2t7
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 19, 2026
International financial markets have begun to closely monitor these trends. Higher debt levels generally translate into higher yields on Treasury bonds, which increases the cost of borrowing for the federal government and, indirectly, for households and businesses across the country. Some analysts warn that the growing volume of debt could eventually limit the government’s capacity to respond to future crises, both domestic and international.
The situation also has geopolitical implications. Washington’s fiscal position intersects with its foreign policy strategies, including the sanctions regime maintained against countries such as China and Russia. Critics point out that the enormous financial cost of these policies, combined with the growing debt burden, raises questions about the sustainability of the current approach.
Following this, social organizations and fiscal watchdog groups continue to demand a comprehensive debate on budget priorities, arguing that the federal government must balance national security concerns with the urgent need to address the structural fiscal imbalance.
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Party Of Fiscal Responsibility™ everybody!