U.S. debt exceeds $40 trillion for first time amid warnings of fiscal crisis

The U.S. Treasury's latest statement showed total public debt outstanding at $40.047 trillion on Tuesday, with it having more than doubled in less than a decade.

WASHINGTON: The US gross national debt has surged past US$40 trillion for the first time, government data showed on Wednesday (Aug 19), outstripping earlier forecasts at a pace fuelled in part by President Donald Trump's invalidated tariffs.The uptick in borrowing comes as longer-term US obligations linked to social se

The uptick in borrowing comes as longer term US obligations linked to social security and health care have been growing, while interest payments have climbed as well.

Rising costs of social safety-net programs, military and Trump’s tax cuts strain federal government budgets The US gross national debt pile has topped $40tn ⁠for the first time, the treasury department said on Wednesday, in another troubling milestone in the wake of decades of borrowing to fund government spending. As