The U.S. national debt grew by $2.25 trillion over the 12 months ending January 15, pushing total debt to $38.4 trillion—and the pace isn't slowing. To put that in perspective, the government is borrowing $71,884 every single second.
This isn't pandemic spending. This is structural deficit spending during what's supposed to be a recovery. The nation added more debt in this 12-month period than in any non-pandemic year on record, according to Fortune's analysis of Treasury data.
The Peterson Foundation CEO called it "the fastest rate of growth outside the pandemic," but that framing undersells the problem. We're not in an emergency. We're not fighting a world war. We're simply spending far more than we're taking in, and the bill is coming due.
Net interest payments on the debt exceeded $1 trillion for the first time in fiscal 2025. Think about that: America now pays more than $1 trillion annually just to service existing debt—before funding a single government program. And with rates elevated, those interest costs are projected to remain above $1 trillion "from here on out," according to budget analysts.
The composition of this debt growth matters. This isn't temporary pandemic relief that will fade. This is tax cuts without corresponding spending cuts, entitlement programs on autopilot, and defense spending that never seems to decline. The structural deficit is being locked in at the worst possible time—when interest rates are high enough to make borrowing painful.
Proponents point to tariff revenue as a solution, but the math doesn't work. Tariffs might generate $300-400 billion annually—less than half of what the government now pays in interest alone. You can't tariff your way out of a $2.25 trillion annual deficit.
Historical context makes this worse. President Trump and President Biden combined own five of the six highest debt-growth years on record. Both administrations have "roughly doubled the rate of debt accumulation" compared to the Obama years and "tripled, even quadrupled" the rates under George W. Bush.
The market is starting to notice. Foreign investors are reducing Treasury holdings. The Danish pension fund that just divested $100 million cited "poor" U.S. finances explicitly. When America's closest allies are publicly questioning U.S. fiscal management, we're past the point of denial.
Economists warn that continuing to borrow at this pace while interest rates remain elevated risks "locking in structural deficits" that outpace economic growth. At that point, debt becomes self-reinforcing—you're borrowing to pay interest on money you've already borrowed. That's how sovereign debt crises begin.
