The national debt now totals $40 trillion, or about 123% of the gross domestic product, as it’s getting costlier to pay down. Few politicians are eager to confront the issue.Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., wears a digital pin displaying the national debt at the U.S. Capitol on July 2, 2025.Kent Nishimura / Bloomberg via Getty ImagesAug. 19, 2026, 5:20 PM EDTWASHINGTON — A record national debt. A rapidly ballooning deficit. Interest payments on track to surpass Medicare as the government’s greatest expense. None of it seems to matter much in Washington, where President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress have enacted an agenda that adds trillions of dollars to the national debt, with upcoming legislative plans that would pile on even more red ink. Just a moment.We are getting your experience ready.
America’s borrowing costs are surging. Washington is shrugging.
The national debt now totals $40 trillion, or about 123% of the gross domestic product, as it’s getting costlier to pay down. Few politicians are eager to confront the issue.
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