The U.S. National Debt Has More Than Doubled In Less Than a Decade, Hitting $40 Trillion For The First Time

The U.S. national debt hit $40 trillion for the first time on Thursday, more than doubling the amount in less than 10 years.

Reuters detailed that the Treasury's latest daily cash and debt balances statement showed that the figure stood at $40.07 trillion.

At third of the increase during the past decade took place during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the Donald Trump and Joe Biden administrations borrowed heavily to keep the economy afloat.

Watchdog have warned that a debt crisis could take place unless Congress changes the strategy and either raise taxes, reduce spending or both.

Annual interest payments on the national debt are projected to exceed $1 trillion this year, according to the CBO, putting them roughly on par with the size of the Pentagon's budget.

Interest expenses already consume about 19% of federal revenue, according to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. That share is projected to rise to 26% by 2036 if current trends continue. The faster pace of borrowing is also bringing Washington closer to another politically explosive debt ceiling fight. Congress raised the legal borrowing limit to $41.1 trillion last year.

Preliminary projections from the Bipartisan Policy Center indicate the government could reach that limit between late winter and midsummer 2027, with the latest borrowing figures pushing expectations toward the earlier part of that range.

The impact could be seen immediately. Bond yields rebounded on Thursday and erased the drop that followed the Treasury Department's announcement of increased debt repurchases.

CNBC detailed that the yield on the 30-year U.S. Treasury bond climbed 5.7 basis points and stood at 5.251%. The instrument was the main focus of the buyback.

Yields on the 10-year U.S. Treasuries climbed more than 5.1 basis points clocked in at 4.704%, the outlet added.

Trump addressed the matter, telling press that he didn't think Americans should be worried about it: "I don't think so at all. I think we have a very powerful country, and we're powering through these ridiculous interest rates — they're ridiculous. Look, ‌when our country ⁠is strong, interest rates should go down."