The federal deficit has surged to nearly $2 trillion, while interest on the national debt is growing faster than government revenue, spending, and the economy itself.*
WASHINGTON — The United States is now spending nearly $3 billion every single day just to pay interest on its national debt, according to new Treasury Department figures released Friday.
The numbers paint a troubling picture of America's finances under President Donald Trump, whose administration has repeatedly promised economic growth and fiscal discipline.
During fiscal year 2026, net interest payments reached a staggering $1.05 trillion, an 8% increase over the previous year. Gross interest costs climbed even higher, reaching $1.36 trillion.
Meanwhile, the annual federal budget deficit widened to $1.99 trillion, up approximately $217 billion from 2025.
Government spending increased 6% to $7.4 trillion, while federal revenue grew just 3% to $5.4 trillion. Interest payments are now the third-largest federal budget expense, exceeding spending on national defense and Medicaid.
The national debt has surpassed $40 trillion.
And the problem is accelerating.
Interest costs are growing faster than federal revenue and economic output, creating a cycle in which Washington borrows more money while paying increasingly expensive interest on existing obligations.
Higher Treasury yields are making matters worse. As older government debt matures, the Treasury must refinance it at today's higher borrowing costs.
Approximately $10 trillion in publicly held federal debt is scheduled to mature within the next 12 months.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has argued that stronger economic growth can help the country overcome its debt problems. But Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip Swagel recently warned that growth alone is unlikely to stabilize the nation's finances.
The Congressional Budget Office previously projected that annual net interest payments could reach $2.1 trillion by 2036. Those projections were made before more recent increases in borrowing costs.
America's debt crisis developed over decades under both Republican and Democratic administrations. However, the latest figures show that the problem has continued to worsen during Trump's second term, despite promises of stronger economic performance.
For American taxpayers, the consequences extend beyond Washington's balance sheet.
Every dollar devoted to interest payments is money unavailable for other priorities unless the government raises additional revenue or borrows even more.
With nearly $2 trillion in annual deficit spending and interest costs approaching $3 billion a day, the administration faces a fundamental challenge: economic growth alone may not be enough to reverse America's increasingly expensive debt burden.