During the federal government shutdown, the U.S. national debt surpassed $38 trillion on Wednesday, marking the first time in history that it has exceeded this threshold . This record figure underscores the accelerating accumulation of debt on the U.S. balance sheet.
According to data released by the U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday, as of October 21, the total U.S. national debt had reached $38,019,813,354,700.26 .
This is the fastest accumulation of US debt to reach $1 trillion outside of the COVID-19 pandemic period . Currently, it has only been a little over two months since the total US national debt surpassed $37 trillion.
In August of this year, the size of the US national debt exceeded the $37 trillion mark; in November of last year, it exceeded the $36 trillion mark; in July of last year, it exceeded the $35 trillion mark; while 40 years ago, the size of the US national debt was around $907 billion.
The Joint Economic Commission (JEC) estimates that the total U.S. national debt has grown at a rate of $69,713.82 per second over the past year .
Over the past decade, with the aging population and the impact of Social Security and Medicare... As the number of insured individuals continues to increase, the size of the U.S. debt is expanding rapidly. Another key driver of the debt surge is the interest payments on federal debt – these payments have risen sharply due to interest rate hikes implemented to curb inflation, coupled with the growth in the size of the debt itself.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) outlined some of the effects of the expanding government debt on Americans, including rising borrowing costs for consumer goods such as mortgages and automobiles, reduced wages due to less capital available for business investment, and rising prices for goods and services .
Michael Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, an advocate for fiscal sustainability, said in a statement, “The $38 trillion in debt during the government shutdown is the latest disturbing sign that lawmakers have failed to fulfill their basic fiscal responsibilities.”
“As debt increases, interest costs will rise, and that’s currently the fastest-growing part of the budget,” Peterson said. “We’ve spent $4 trillion on interest over the past 10 years, but we’ll spend $14 trillion over the next 10. Interest costs are crowding out important public and private investments for the future and harming the economic interests of every American.”
Kent Smetters, director of the budget modeling project at the University of Pennsylvania and a former member of the Bush administration's Treasury Department, said that over time, the growing debt burden will eventually lead to higher inflation, which in turn will erode Americans' purchasing power .
The Trump administration says its policies are helping to slow government spending and will reduce the U.S.'s massive deficit. A new analysis by Treasury officials indicates that the total deficit from April to September was $468 billion. Treasury Secretary Bessant said in a paper on Wednesday that this is the lowest level since 2019.
"In the first eight months of his presidency, President Trump reduced the deficit by $350 billion compared to the same period in 2024 by cutting spending and increasing revenue," White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement. He added that the U.S. will pursue strong economic growth, reduce inflation, increase tariff revenue, lower borrowing costs, and reduce waste, fraud, and abuse.
(Article source: CLS)
