The U.S. national debt surpassed $37 trillion for the first time in the nation's history on Friday as the federal government continues to accumulate debt at a record-setting pace, APA reports citing Fox Business.
New data from the Treasury Department released showed that the gross national debt hit $37,004,817,625,842.56 on Tuesday afternoon.
The $37 trillion debt milestone comes less than eight months after the nation hit the $36 trillion threshold for the first time in late November 2024, and a little over one year after the $35 trillion mark was reached in late July 2024.
The U.S. topping $37 trillion in total debt comes as the total debt held by the public – a metric favored by economists that excludes debt held in intragovernmental accounts like the Social Security trust funds – is projected to reach 99% of the size of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) this year.
Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) reacted, telling Fox Business, "Reaching this milestone is a moment no one in Washington can be proud of – our fiscal situation is woefully unbalanced, yet Congress keeps on making the situation worse. Even when measuring debt as a share of the economy, we’re headed toward record levels and on course to spend $1 trillion just on interest costs. We will need to act quickly to face the reality of our unsustainable debt, before a fiscal emergency forces our hand."
