WASHINGTON D.C.: U.S. public debt has crossed US$40 trillion for the first time, more than doubling in less than a decade as government borrowing, pandemic spending and long-running tax-and-spending imbalances pushed the federal debt load to a new milestone.

The Treasury Department's latest daily cash and debt balances statement showed total public debt outstanding at $40.047 trillion on August 18. That included $32.266 trillion in Treasury securities held by the public and $7.782 trillion in intra-governmental debt.

Debt stood at $19.95 trillion when President Donald Trump was first sworn in in January 2017. Roughly one-third of the increase since then occurred during two years of heavy government borrowing to fund COVID-19 pandemic responses under Trump and former President Joe Biden, while fiscal policy choices by both presidents and long-running tax-and-spending imbalances account for the rest.

Budget watchdog groups warned that lawmakers need to address the country's fiscal outlook through higher taxes, spending cuts or both.

"Forty trillion dollars of debt doesn't exist solely on the government's ledgers; it is felt throughout the economy and finds its way to the pocketbooks of people one way or another," said Maya MacGuineas, president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

"The more we borrow, the more we exacerbate inflation, squeeze out other priorities in the budget, and leave ourselves vulnerable to emergencies at home and turmoil abroad," she added.

MacGuineas said debt reached $40 trillion less than five months after hitting $39 trillion and has quadrupled in less than 20 years.

Demand from foreign investors, who hold nearly one-third of Treasuries, has declined over the past year.

Long-term Treasury yields on August 18 reached their highest levels in nearly two decades as investors demanded greater compensation amid heavy government bond issuance. The next day, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that buybacks of 10- to 30-year Treasuries would double to at least $4 billion per operation.

Higher long-term Treasury yields tend to raise rates on mortgages, car loans and commercial borrowing.

Asked the same day whether Americans should worry about bond-market volatility, Trump said: "I don't think so at all. I think we have a very powerful country, and we're powering through these ridiculous interest rates; they're ridiculous. Look, when our country is strong, interest rates should go down."

The Treasury last week reported a $432 billion deficit for July, the fourth-highest monthly deficit in U.S. history. The deficit for the first 10 months of fiscal 2026 has already exceeded the total for fiscal 2025, with two months remaining.

Public debt rose $7.8 trillion during Trump's first term, with more than half accumulating during the pandemic response in his final nine months in office. Since Trump returned to office in January 2025, debt has increased another $3.8 trillion, taking the increase across his two terms so far to $11.6 trillion.

Debt increased $8.4 trillion during Biden's term, including COVID-19 recovery spending as well as spending on infrastructure, clean-energy subsidies, and other priorities.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that policy choices under both presidents increased the federal debt trajectory beyond what would have accumulated under existing spending statutes when each took office.

Trump's second-term One Big Beautiful Bill Act will add another $4.7 trillion to the debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The federal government spends roughly $7 trillion annually, with about 60 percent going toward mandatory programs including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' care.

Another $1.1 trillion goes toward interest on U.S. borrowing. In fiscal 2025, debt-service costs exceeded Pentagon funding for the first time. During the first 10 months of fiscal 2026, interest costs surpassed Medicare spending, becoming the federal budget's second-largest line item behind Social Security.