Imagine a debt so large it swallows your entire yearly income and still leaves a balance. That’s where the US stands now that the national debt topped $40T, a total bigger than the nation’s GDP. War spending, tax cuts, and tariff refunds have kept the borrowing binge alive, and bond investors are now demanding steeper compensation.
- The government is on track to borrow over $2T in FY2026 alone — with interest payments now consuming roughly half of that total.
- As spending outpaced revenue, cost-cutting efforts fell short too — DOGE set out to trim $1T from the budget but landed near $200B.
Cost of borrowing: As foreign demand retreats, the 30-year Treasury yield hit its highest level in nearly two decades, raising the price tag on everything from mortgages to corporate debt. It’s an awkward backdrop for a White House whose approval has hit its lowest point yet, with only 29% approving of its economic record. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hopes to roughly halve the deficit by 2028, but admitted last week it’s headed the wrong way. Its near-term fix, doubling debt buybacks, aims to keep borrowing costs in check. That’s Washington’s version of paying off one credit card with another.
