The post U.S. national debt smashes record to start 2026, hits $38.5 trillion and counting appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

America’s national debt crossed $38.5 trillion in the opening month of 2026, pushing past a level the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget once expected around 2030. The negative rally traces back to pandemic-era spending that flooded the economy with federal cash as officials tried to keep businesses open, workers paid, and markets steady during the crisis. Huge figures no longer shock the system. Prices across the economy are higher, and long strings of zeroes now show up everywhere from grocery bills to government ledgers. In 2026, another line item joins that list. Annual interest payments on the national debt are reaching the trillion-dollar range, locking in a costly reality for the federal budget. Uncle Sam’s interest cost is surging crazily as borrowing piles up In 2020, as COVID spread, the US federal government paid $345 billion in interest. Six years later, that cost has nearly tripled. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has described this pace as the new norm. At this point, the United States owes lenders about $38.4 trillion, and servicing that balance now consumes a massive share of federal revenue. Elected officials across parties keep talking about shrinking the debt, and 2025 followed that familiar script. President Donald Trump, now back in the White House, signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” last summer. The package combined tax cuts with new spending and carried a $3.4 trillion cost spread across ten years, reinforcing Washington’s appetite for constant borrowing. Trump has laid out several ideas to deal with the growing tab. He has said tariffs could help pay it down and that proceeds from his golden visa program could offset some borrowing. He has also argued that faster economic growth would ease pressure by improving the debt-to-GDP ratio and that the Department of Government Efficiency, known as…

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Filed under: News - @ January 3, 2026 2:07 am