US national debt reaches a record $37 trillion, the Treasury Department reports

The $37 trillion update is found in the latest Treasury Department report issued Tuesday, which logs the nation’s daily finances.

The national debt eclipsed $37 trillion years sooner than pre-pandemic projections. The Congressional Budget Office’s January 2020 projections had gross federal debt eclipsing $37 trillion after fiscal year 2030. But the debt grew faster than expected because of a multi-year COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2020 that shut down much of the U.S. economy, where the federal government borrowed heavily under then-President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden to stabilise the national economy and support a recovery.

And now, more government spending has been approved after Trump signed into law the Republicans’ tax cut and spending legislation earlier this year. The law is set to add $4.1 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates.

Chair and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, Michael Peterson said in a statement that government borrowing puts upward pressure on interest rates, “adding costs for everyone and reducing private sector investment.