Total U.S. public debt exceeded $40 trillion for the first time on Tuesday, reaching $40.047 trillion, according to the Treasury Department’s daily cash and debt balances statement released Wednesday.
The increase was driven by $32.266 trillion in Treasury securities held by the public and $7.782 trillion in intra-governmental holdings. Federal debt has more than doubled since January 2017, when it stood at $19.95 trillion at the start of former President Donald Trump’s first term.
Approximately one-third of the rise occurred during a two-year period of pandemic-related borrowing under both Trump and President Joe Biden, while the remainder reflects sustained fiscal policy choices and structural revenue-spending imbalances. The term premium on 10-year Treasuries, which measures the yield component attributed to long-term risk, reached its highest level in more than 12 years this week.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Wednesday that the government will double the size of buyback operations for 10- to 30-year Treasuries to at least $4 billion per operation, aiming to reduce long-dated bond yields amid elevated borrowing costs.
