US federal debt topped $40.0 trillion on Tuesday, the Treasury Department said
on Wednesday. Debt rose about $3.0 trillion in the past year — the fastest
annual increase outside the pandemic — as federal borrowing accelerated. The
total has climbed from under $6.0 trillion at the turn of the century and has
roughly doubled over the past decade. The Congressional Budget Office projects
publicly held federal debt-to-GDP will exceed the post‑war peak of 106% around
2030 and reach about 120% by 2036. A senior director at the Committee for a
Responsible Federal Budget said the pace is a clear signal the situation is out
of control.
