US gross national debt tops $40tn for first time

The US gross national debt has surpassed the $40 trillion mark for the first time, according to the US Treasury Department. This milestone was reached on Wednesday, following a doubling of the government deficit over the past decade. The debt balance, as of Tuesday afternoon, stood at $40.047 trillion, marking the highest level in US history.

During Donald Trump's presidency, $8.4 trillion was added to the debt, primarily from Covid-19 relief spending, while Joe Biden added $4.3 trillion, much of which went towards tariff refunds totaling $100 billion so far, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. Government watchdogs had predicted for weeks that the US would exceed the $40 trillion threshold, given its debt reached $39 trillion in March.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget's President, Maya MacGuineas, noted that it took nearly 200 years for America's gross debt to first reach $1 trillion in 1981, and that $40 trillion of debt is felt throughout the economy, impacting people's pocketbooks through inflation, budget squeezes, and vulnerability to domestic and foreign crises.

The milestone was reached as Congress, now out of session, remains divided over a spending bill, with the government scheduled to shut down on September 30th if no bill is passed and signed by the president. The Treasury Department announced on Wednesday that it would double its debt buybacks to address investor concerns over inflation and the US-Iran conflict, though this does not increase the debt.