US national debt breaches $39 trillion milestone for first time amid spending surge

The U.S. national debt reached another historic milestone on Wednesday as it surpassed $39 trillion for the first time as the federal government's persistent budget deficits send the debt soaring higher.

New data from the Treasury Department released on Wednesday showed that the gross national debt reached $39,016,762,910,245.14 as of March 17.

The $39 trillion milestone comes about five months after the national debt reached $38 trillion for the first time in late October 2025, which closely followed the $37 trillion milestone being surpassed just two months earlier in mid-August.

America's debt has grown rapidly over the last decade as the population ages and federal spending on Social Security and Medicare rises. Another key driver of the surging debt is interest expenses incurred from servicing the debt, which have swelled due to higher interest rates meant to curb inflation as well as the growth in the debt itself.

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Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the nonpartisan Peter G. Peterson Foundation, told FOX Business that the latest national debt milestone is an opportunity for Americans to "recognize this alarming rate of growth and the significant financial burden we are putting on the next generation."

"At the current growth rate, we will hit a staggering $40 trillion in national debt before this fall's elections. Borrowing trillion after trillion at this rapid pace with no plan in place is the definition of unsustainable," he explained.

Peterson noted that interest payments on the debt – the cost of servicing the debt the federal government has incurred – are the fastest growing line item in the federal budget and that interest costs are projected to total nearly $100 trillion over the next 30 years. 

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He went on to say that with voters concerned about affordability, the debt's cost and economic impact on Americans' livelihoods should serve as cause for the issue to be a focal point of the debate surrounding this year's elections.

"America faces complex and critical challenges, both at home and abroad, and putting our debt on a sustainable path will support a stronger, more secure future. The good news is that there are many solutions available, and they all should be put on the table for discussion this campaign season," Peterson added.

The fiscal headwinds facing the federal government are expected to continue in the years ahead, as spending on programs like Social Security and Medicare rise along with debt service costs and cause projected budget deficits to widen.

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The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a 10-year budget and economic forecasts which estimated annual budget deficits will rise from their current level of about $1.9 trillion to $3.1 trillion a year a decade from now. That will push the gross national debt from its current level around $39 trillion to $63 trillion in 2036. 

Debt held by the public as a share of gross domestic product (GDP), a measure economists prefer to use in comparing a nation's debt to the size of its economy, will rise from about 100% this year to 108% of GDP in 2030 and further to 120% in 2036. 

Those figures will break the record of 106% set in 1946 as the U.S. was in the process of demobilization after the end of World War II.

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A recent update from the CBO found that the federal government's budget deficit for the current fiscal year 2026 topped $1 trillion in the first five months of the fiscal year despite an influx of tax revenue from tariffs, some of which were struck down by the Supreme Court as being illegal.

Some of those tariff revenues may be subject to refunds to the businesses and consumers who paid them, which could widen this year's deficit if the revenue isn't replaced.