Trump and Biden together added roughly $20 trillion to the national debt, with the latest $1 trillion accumulating in under five months.
Interest payments have surged to $1.25 trillion annually, now the second-largest federal expense, and are driving up rates on mortgages and auto loans.
With GDP growing just 1.5% and foreign investors cutting Treasury demand, no economic tailwind exists to slow the debt's climb.
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The odometer flipped on August 19. That morning, Treasury reported $40.047 trillion in total public debt outstanding, the first time the federal balance sheet has ever begun with a four. The pace of the accumulation is what should stop readers. It took the United States until 1981 to reach $1 trillion in debt for the first time. It took less than five months to go from $39 trillion to $40 trillion. The last trillion was added in roughly the time it takes to close on a house.