America’s skyrocketing debt has reached record levels, hitting $40,047,425,768,420.22 on Wednesday—the highest in history.
Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a member of a small group of federal legislators who have expressed concern about this trend, noted on social media: “The national debt crossed the $40 trillion mark, months ahead of schedule. Instead of paying for things as we go, Washington spends and spends.” Paul has repeatedly identified the national debt as America’s greatest threat.
The nation reached the $40 trillion milestone less than five months after crossing $39 trillion in March 2026, following a jump to $38 trillion in October 2025. Since January 2017, when the debt stood at $19.95 trillion, it has more than doubled. The first and second Trump administrations account for $11.6 trillion of the debt—the most accumulated under any single president. During Joe Biden’s term, the debt increased by $8.4 trillion. Barack Obama’s two terms added $9.32 trillion.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that at this rate, the national debt could reach between $56 and $64 trillion by 2036. In contrast, the debt was $400 billion in 1971 and just under $6 trillion at the turn of the century—adding $34 trillion over 25 years.
Who—or what—is responsible for this recent acceleration?
A financial expert claims the debt surge is driven by “billions of dollars in lost revenue from President Donald Trump’s invalidated tariffs.”
An analyst states that rapid debt growth results from surging interest costs, which are rising due to a larger debt burden and higher interest rates, as well as increased federal spending on Social Security and Medicare amid the aging U.S. population.
Representative Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), another fiscal conservative in Congress, attributed part of the problem to Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” He shared a post from The Kobeissi Letter stating that debt servicing costs have tripled since 2020. “The results of the Big Beautiful Bill are in,” Massie remarked. He noted he lost his reelection because he voted against policies that led to the current situation.
Massie was among the few lawmakers who rejected Trump’s signature bill last year due to its high cost. Conservative forecasts by the CBO predicted the bill would add at least $3.5 trillion and up to $5 trillion in debt over a decade. The White House disputed these projections, claiming the CBO did not account for the country’s growth under Trump.
Unfortunately, the White House has been wrong. There is no “Golden Age.” No average American can claim to be tired of winning. The tariffs—a policy intended as a good idea but implemented poorly—have caused significant problems. Job growth remains moderate at best. Efforts to cut spending have been undermined while Congress continues to spend without restraint. In fact, this debt surge may force Congress to raise the debt ceiling ahead of schedule.
While the White House failed to deliver on its promise of economic growth, it did launch a surprise: war. As the Bipartisan Policy Center notes, America has not yet received the receipt for the illegal and unprovoked war the president initiated against Iran.
For individuals, Massie’s assessment is stark: the national debt amounts to $4,000 per American. “A family of four owes $16,000 per year for nothing but interest on the debt!”
Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, told a financial advisor that the consequences of this debt include higher interest costs—now exceeding national defense spending—and each trillion added to the debt fuels inflation, increasing mortgages, car loans, and credit card bills for all Americans while slowing wage growth.
Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, echoed Peterson’s concerns. She stated: “Forty trillion dollars of debt doesn’t exist solely on government ledgers; it impacts the economy and reaches people’s pockets. The more we borrow, the more inflation worsens, budget priorities are squeezed, and we become vulnerable to home and international emergencies.”
These are the more optimistic assessments. Financial advisor Peter Schiff warned that the U.S. could face an Argentina-like crisis—where annual inflation soared above 3,000 percent. “We’re finally going to have to pay the piper for decades of monetary and fiscal excesses,” Schiff said.
While multiple explanations for rising debt exist, the core issue remains: The debt is enormous because the government spends too much. And it spends too much because it has become far too large and out of control. This situation stems from the shift from a precious metals money system to a fiat currency, which has led to excessive borrowing and taxation.
Schiff, who was previously mocked by mainstream economists for correctly predicting the 2008 financial crisis, points to President Richard Nixon’s 1971 decision to end the gold-exchange standard as a pivotal moment. “On that night, Nixon declared that foreign holders of U.S. Federal Reserve notes could no longer be redeemed in gold,” Schiff explained. This effectively turned U.S. currency into “Monopoly money.”
Schiff argues that money backed by precious metals placed fiscal restraints on government spending and debt. Without it, the federal government has been able to spend without constraint.
The Federal Reserve’s role in monetizing deficits has been critical in this shift. Since its creation and the introduction of the federal income tax, America has become the world’s largest debtor nation. “In fact, the United States owes more money than all other debtor nations combined,” Schiff states.
The removal of the gold standard and rising debt threaten to end the U.S. dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency—a status that has delayed the consequences of debt. What follows? Schiff warns: “We now stand on the precipice of an inflationary collapse that will make the stagflation of the 1970s look like the roaring ’20s.”
Paul Dragu is an award-winning reporter and author of Defector: A True Story of Tyranny, Liberty and Purpose.