When Trump’s first year back in the White House came to an end, the U.S. national debt was approximately $2.25 trillion higher than when he took the oath of office again. This shows how rapidly Washington’s deficit is increasing, even amidst the hype around DOGE and promises to reduce the debt. In the calendar year 2025, the growth of the national debt was even greater, reaching around $2.29 trillion.
The acceleration of borrowing, with the national debt standing at $38.4 trillion and still rising as of [time], is intensifying warnings from both budget watchdogs and Wall Street. They are concerned that the country’s fiscal path is becoming an increasingly significant vulnerability for the economy. According to [source], the total national debt has been growing at a rate of $71,884.09 per second over the past year.
From the close of trading on January 17, 2025, to the end of the day on January 15, 2026, a period of 12 months, the federal government added approximately $2.25 trillion to the national debt, as per calculations exclusively shared with by [organization]. This period roughly corresponds to President Donald Trump’s first year back in office, as it is the last business day before last year’s Inauguration Day and the most recent day for which data is available. The increase from $37 trillion to $38 trillion in just two months between August and October was particularly remarkable. [Entity] stated at the time that it was the fastest growth rate outside of the pandemic. [Name], the CEO of the non – partisan watchdog focused on fiscal sustainability, told at the time, “If it seems like we are adding debt faster than ever, that’s because we are.”
Regarding how these figures compare to those of recent presidencies, the Peterson Foundation provided calculations (below) for each calendar year over the past quarter – century. It shows that President Joe Biden had the highest annual growth of the national debt outside of the pandemic, with nearly $2.6 trillion in 2023. President Trump holds the record by a large margin, with nearly $4.6 trillion of national debt growth occurring in the pandemic year of 2020, when the federal government implemented massive economic relief measures.
Trump and Biden together account for the top five years with the highest debt accumulation. Trump has two such years, and Biden has three, spanning five out of the last six years. Although the figures are not adjusted for inflation, generally speaking, Trump and Biden have roughly doubled the rate of debt accumulation compared to that under President Barack Obama. Depending on the term, they have tripled or even quadrupled the growth rate compared to that under President George W. Bush. It should be noted that both Bush and Obama presided over the aftermath of [event], and there were discussions about whether their fiscal responses were sufficient.
Interest costs explode
The surge in debt is occurring at a time when the interest costs on that debt have become one of Washington’s fastest – growing expenses. The specific line item for net interest in the federal budget totaled $970 billion in fiscal year 2025. However, the [CBO] calculated that, including the spending on net interest payments for the public debt, this exceeded the $1 trillion mark for the first time. [Another non – partisan watchdog] projects that interest payments will reach $1 trillion per year from now on.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that his ambitious tariff program will be sufficient to reduce the debt burden, presenting import duties as a kind of magical revenue source for Washington. Treasury data shows that tariffs are bringing in significantly more money than before, likely in the range of $300 billion to $400 billion per year. But even optimistic projections suggest that these amounts only cover a fraction of the annual interest costs and an even smaller portion of the total federal spending. As Trump backed down from many of his tariff threats (before the spike he threatened in January 2026 in relation to his desire for U.S. possession of Greenland), the [CBO] calculated that [something] had also disappeared.
At the same time, the administration has promised to distribute some of the tariff revenue directly to households through a proposed $2,000 “dividend” for every American. Independent analysts estimate that [this] will further widen the deficit unless there are offsets elsewhere. Economists say that the combination of more borrowing, high interest rates, and new long – term commitments risks creating structural deficits that will cause the debt to rise faster than the overall economy.
Markets and America’s ‘Achilles’ heel’
Financial markets are taking notice. As Washington auctions hundreds of billions of dollars in new Treasury securities every week, the yields on longer – term notes and bonds have increased. This reflects both tighter monetary conditions and investors’ unease about the large volume of U.S. borrowing. Recent analysis from [source] and others has described America’s growing debt load as an ” [term] ” that could make the dollar and the broader economy more vulnerable to shocks, especially as geopolitical tensions and tariff disputes escalate.
These concerns are exacerbated by the possibility of future recessions or emergencies that could force the government to borrow even more on top of the already high current debt level. Rating agencies and international lenders have not issued any immediate warnings about U.S. solvency, but they have increasingly emphasized fiscal risks in their outlooks, pointing to widening deficits and a political system that has struggled to enforce fiscal discipline.
Voters are paying attention
If there is one thing that Americans generally agree on, it is that the debt problem is important. Recent polling sponsored by the Peterson Foundation found that [percentage] say the national debt is an important issue for the country, even though they are divided on which programs to cut or which taxes to raise.
Trump first won office [description]. A decade later, after his return to power, that figure has instead reached record highs. As the administration prepares for another year of governance and another round of fiscal showdowns on Capitol Hill, the question is shifting from whether the debt is growing too fast to how long the world’s largest economy can continue to outpace its own balance sheet.
For this story, journalists used generative AI as a research tool. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing.