US federal debt passes US$40 trillion, doubling since January 2017
According to Reuters, the American figure has more than doubled from US$19.95tn when US President Donald Trump was first sworn in during January 2017, with roughly one-third of that increase tied to COVID-19 pandemic borrowing under Trump and former president Joe Biden.
Congress’s Joint Economic Committee calculates US debt has grown by about US$7.9bn a day over the past year, or roughly US$91,000 per second, the Financial Times reported.
Canada’s federal debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio will rise from 41.3 percent in 2025-26 to 42.5 percent in 2030-31, the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) said in its June 2026 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, against US debt held by the public that now roughly matches the size of the American economy, according to the Financial Times.
Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said in a statement carried by Reuters that the debt does not sit only on government ledgers and finds its way into household pocketbooks.
The more the US borrows, MacGuineas told the outlet, “the more we exacerbate inflation” and crowd out other budget priorities.
