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The U.S. national debt has exceeded $37 trillion, raising fears that the country’s sea of red ink is rising faster than expected.
The new mark, reported earlier this week by the Treasury Department, also sparked debate about whether President Trump is ameliorating or accelerating the problem.
The Congressional Budget Office outlook in January 2020 estimated the gross debt would not exceed $37 trillion until after fiscal 2030.
Yet the COVID-19 pandemic prompted an aggressive round of government stimulus spending under the first Trump administration and Biden presidency. This year, Mr. Trump and his GOP allies passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which is projected to add more than $4 trillion to the debt over the next 10 years.
“Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the debt just officially passed the $37 trillion mark,” Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky wrote on X.
Mr. Massie was one of only two House Republicans to vote against the bill in July.
Mr. Trump and his allies say debt projections discount the potential economic boom from the bill, which extended tax cuts, increased spending on the border and the military and established new eligibility requirements on Medicaid recipients.
The president also says his aggressive tariff policies will fill budget holes. Tariff revenue has totaled nearly $130 billion this year, or more than double what U.S. customs had collected at this point last year. The administration just ramped up its levies on dozens of countries, so tariff revenue should surge.
Critics of the approach say U.S. importers and consumers bear the cost, so the revenue is still a tax on Americans. They also fear the tariffs will be a drag on economic growth, yet Mr. Trump is declaring victory.
“It has been proven, that even at this late stage, Tariffs have not caused Inflation, or any other problems for America, other than massive amounts of CASH pouring into our Treasury’s coffers,” Mr. Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social.
Fiscal watchdogs and lawmakers aren’t so sanguine. They say the level of current debt should be a wake-up call for Washington.
The debt is growing by $59,361.77 per second, according to one congressional monitor, and it is hitting trillion-dollar milestones at a fast clip. The gross U.S. debt reached $34 trillion in January 2024, $35 trillion in July 2024 and $36 trillion in November 2024.
“Spending and revenue are woefully out of balance — to the tune of nearly $2 trillion annually and rising — and instead of addressing this imbalance, Congress keeps choosing to make things worse,” said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
She said the country is on track to spend $1 trillion this year on interest costs alone.
“Interest is now the second-largest item in the budget, surpassing the entire defense budget as well as Medicare,” she said.
Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, said the U.S. debt is now greater than the economies of the 20-country Eurozone and China, combined.
The Government Accountability Office says the debt is unsustainable over the long term and could have real-world impacts, such as higher borrowing costs that lead to trickle-down problems, such as stagnant wages and higher prices.
“BREAKING: National debt just hit $37 TRILLION. Not just a number but a bill our kids can’t afford to pay,” Rep. Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican who is running for governor, wrote on X.
Fellow users posted a “community note” faulting her for supporting the Trump bill, which is expected to add to the debt.
English (US) ·