{
  "id": 15240984,
  "title": "U.S. debt interest payments hit $3 billion a day and jumped 8% in fiscal 2026 — faster than total federal spending, revenue and GDP growth",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/17/u-s-debt-interest-payments-hit-3-billion-a-day-and-jumped-8-in-fiscal",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-17T16:50:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fortune",
    "slug": "fortune",
    "url": "https://fortune.com/2026/10/17/us-debt-interest-payments-fiscal-2026-1-trillion-federal-spending-revenue-gdp-growth-treasury-yields/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "U.S. debt interest payments surged to $3 billion daily in fiscal 2026, marking an 8% increase and outpacing total federal spending, revenue, and GDP growth. According to Treasury Department data, the budget deficit ballooned to $1.99 trillion, 12% worse than the previous year's $1.78 trillion gap. Revenue rose by just 3% to $5.4 trillion, trailing behind the 6% increase in spending to $7.4 trillion. Interest payments on the national debt surpassed defense spending and Medicaid, totaling $1.36 trillion, with an average rate of 3.53%. This is double the rate in 2021, before the Federal Reserve's aggressive tightening to curb inflation. Net interest payments surged 8% to $1.05 trillion, surpassing GDP growth of about 2% and nominal GDP growth of about 6%. This translates to about $2.9 billion daily, or 3.2% of GDP, breaking a previous record set in 1991. With gross U.S. debt at $40 trillion and publicly held debt at 100% of GDP, interest costs are projected to be the fastest-growing federal budget component. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has issued more short-term debt to finance the deficit and is retiring long-term obligations, with about one-third of publicly held debt maturing within the next 12 months. The Congressional Budget Office projects annual debt interest expenses to reach $2.1 trillion by 2036. However, easing the debt burden seems unlikely, as President Trump has proposed a $5,000 \"dividend\" check and Bessent suggests economic growth will solve the issue. However, experts argue that economic growth alone is insufficient, as spending and revenue changes are necessary.",
  "summary": "Net interest payments rose 8% to $1.05 trillion in fiscal year 2026, while revenue increased 3% to $5.4 trillion and spending grew 6% to $7.4 trillion.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}