The total US government debt has swollen by more than $500 billion since the start of July and is now approaching the historic $40 trillion threshold. According to the US Treasury’s daily reports, debt stood at $39.389 trillion on July 1 and reached $39.913 trillion by mid‑August. That represents a net increase of $524.22 billion in just under six weeks.

The rapid rise in the debt burden has been accompanied by record costs to service it. Based on data from the Congressional Budget Office, the federal government allocated an unprecedented $963 billion to interest payments and debt servicing in the first 10 months of fiscal 2026 (which began on October 1), significantly constraining the federal budget’s flexibility.

A draft joint budget resolution in Congress projects that the borrowing trend will continue over the coming decade. The debt is expected to exceed $41.3 trillion in fiscal 2027, surpass the psychological $50 trillion mark by 2033, and reach more than $56.2 trillion by fiscal 2036.