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The US' gross national debt has surged past US$40 trillion for the first time, government data showed on Wednesday, outstripping earlier forecasts at a pace fueled in part by US President Donald Trump's invalidated tariffs. The record comes as longer-term US obligations linked to social security and healthcare have been growing, while interest payments have climbed as well. Total outstanding public debt was US$40.05 trillion at close on Tuesday, US Department of the Treasury data showed.
Photo: AFP That surpasses an earlier forecast by the Congressional Budget Office that overall borrowing would hit US$39.4 trillion by the end of this fiscal year. Rising US debt comes as concerns over inflation and government spending have been driving investor worries, and the cost of borrowing has grown. The war in the Middle East has also piled pressure on Trump, costing the lives of 18 American service members and US$37.5 billion in military spending as the nearly six-month-old conflict grinds on with little sign of resolution. Defense spending shows no sign of slowing, with the US House of Representatives narrowly passing an annual defense policy bill last month that would authorize a record US$1.15 trillion in funding for the Pentagon. Savings from Trump's commission to slash the US federal workforce and agencies have also been hard to quantify, with independent observers saying figures claimed by the US government — the US Department of Government Efficiency Web site currently posts cuts of US$215 billion — fall short of actual savings. US Republican Senator Rick Scott joined a wave of lawmakers in condemning the debt surge, urging the US Congress to "get spending under control and BALANCE THE BUDGET." US Democratic Senator Mark Kelly accused Trump of enriching himself while running up the national debt, while US Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu (劉雲平) accused Trump of having "ushered in the Golden Age of Debt." Yields on long-term Treasury bonds rose Tuesday to the highest level since 2007. The increase forces the US government to refinance debt at the highest rates since before the 2008 global financial crisis. However, the Treasury moved to steady the long-term bond market early on Wednesday, sending yields lower.
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