The U.S. government’s gross national debt surpassed $38 trillion on Wednesday—just two months after it reached $37 trillion—which comes as the government continues to navigate the federal shutdown.
This marks the fastest single-year accumulation of $1 trillion in debt outside of the emergency government spending during the COVID-19 pandemic and has prompted concerns about economic stability, borrowing costs, and long-term impacts on American citizens.
Why It Matters
The amount of national debt, and the speed at which it’s accumulating, are raising urgent questions about America’s fiscal health and the sustainability of current federal policies, as the government battles with internal political gridlock during the second-longest government shutdown in U.S. history. For Americans, the impact of this rising debt could affect mortgage and car borrowing costs, wages, and the cost of living.
Lawmakers and fiscal experts are debating the need for reforms as the debt trajectory continues to accelerate at record speed.
What To Know
Treasury data show that the national debt has been steadily climbing, rising from $34 trillion in January 2024 to $35 trillion in July 2024, then $36 trillion in November 2024 to $37 trillion in August 2025, and now $38 trillion in October 2025, just two months later. The Joint Economic Committee calculated that the debt increased by nearly $69,714 per second over the past year.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the cumulative deficit from April to September was $468 billion—the lowest it’s been since 2019—and said the Trump administration reduced the deficit by $350 billion compared to the previous year, thanks to lower spending and increased revenue.
The deficit measures how much more the government spends than it collects in a single year, while the national debt is the total amount the government owes after years of accumulated deficits.
What People Are Saying
White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement, “During his first eight months in office, President Trump has reduced the deficit by $350 billion compared to the same period in 2024 by cutting spending and boosting revenue.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on X Wednesday: “Today, President Trump is putting the U.S. financial system on solid footing. Revenues are soaring and government spending is under control. Democrats think they can undo the important progress the President has made by shutting down the government. But they will not succeed.”
Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said: “The reality is that we’re becoming distressingly numb to our own dysfunction. We fail to pass budgets, we blow past deadlines, we ignore fiscal safeguards, and we haggle over fractions of a budget while leaving the largest drivers untouched. Social Security and Medicare, for example, are just seven years from having their trust funds depleted – and you don’t hear anything from our political leaders on how to avoid such a disaster.”
Michael Peterson, chair and CEO of the non-partisan Peter G. Peterson Foundation, said: “Reaching $38 trillion in debt during a government shutdown is the latest troubling sign that lawmakers are not meeting their basic fiscal duties. Along with increasing debt, you get higher interest costs, which are now the fastest-growing part of the budget. We spent $4 trillion on interest over the last decade, but we will spend $14 trillion in the next ten years. Interest costs crowd out important public and private investments in our future, harming the economy for every American.”
What Happens Next
Policymakers will face increasing pressure to devise long-term fiscal reforms as interest payments on the debt will likely take precedence over essential public investments. The debate is expected to intensify as lawmakers weigh the necessity of controlling spending against the challenges of funding existing commitments such as Social Security, Medicare, and defense.
The circumstances around reaching the debt ceiling and the broader issue of fiscal sustainability are expected to remain dominant issues in the coming months, with renewed urgency as the economic implications become more acute.
This article contains reporting by The Associated Press
