US national debt surges past $40 trillion for first time

US national debt surges past $40 trillion for first time. AFP Published August 21, 2026 Updated August 21, 2026 07: 46am.

Key points

• That surpasses an earlier forecast by the Congressional Budget Office that overall borrowing would hit $39.4tr by the end of fiscal year 2026.
• Total public debt outstanding stood at $40.05tr at the close of business on Tuesday, according to data published on Wednesday by the Treasury Department.
• Yields on long-term Treasury bonds rose Tuesday to the highest level since 2007, reflecting growing cost pressures due to war on Iran and anxiety over US deficit spending.
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• Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, a retired US Navy combat pilot, accused Trump of enriching himself while running up the national debt.

WASHINGTON: The US gross national debt has surged past $40 trillion for the first time, administration data demonstrated on Wednesday, outstripping earlier forecasts at a pace fuelled in part by President Donald Trump's invalidated tariffs.

In practice, the uptick in borrowing is a blow to Trump. This person promised to cut public spending during his 2024 presidential campaign, and sparked a backlash from US representatives throughout the political field.

While interest payments have climbed as well, the new record comes as longer-term US obligations linked to social security and health care have been growing.

Rising US debt comes as reservations over inflation and administration spending have been driving investor worries, and the cost of borrowing has grown.

Meanwhile, the war in the Middle East has additionally piled pressure on Trump, costing the lives of 18 American service members and $37.5 billion in military spending as the almost six-month-old conflict grinds on with little sign of resolution.

Defence spending demonstrates no sign of slowing, with the US House of Representatives narrowly passing an annual defence policy bill in July that would authorise a record $1.15tr in funding for the Pentagon.

Republican Senator Rick Scott joined a wave of lawmakers in condemning the debt surge, urging Congress to "get spending under control and BALANCE THE BUDGET". "Americans deserve better, " he wrote on X.

The President remarked he'd pay off the debt in his first term. Well, we all knew that was a lie, he posted.

"Instead, he ran it up to $40 trillion while he and his family made billions."

Yields on long-term Treasury bonds rose Tuesday to the highest level since 2007, reflecting growing cost pressures due to war on Iran and anxiety over US deficit spending. The growth forces the US administration to refinance debt at the highest rates since before the 2008 global financial crisis.

For now, US national debt surges past $40 trillion for first time remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.