U.S. national debt passes $40 trillion mark

The U.S. government’s total debt reached $40.05 trillion as of Tuesday, according to the Treasury Department. The national debt doubled over the last nine years, sitting at $30 trillion in early 2022.

Only about $8 trillion of the gross national debt is held by U.S. intragovernmental entities. The rest is held by the public. Foreign investors account for roughly one-third of that publicly held debt, according to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.

The news comes after the public-held national debt in May surpassed the total size of the U.S. economy, as measured by gross domestic product.

The U.S. government continues to spend more than it collects. The Treasury Department in July reported a roughly $432 billion shortfall for the month, its highest in the wake of pandemic-era spending in March 2021. Last month, the year-to-date deficit was nearing $1.8 trillion, a larger figure than in July 2025. The government laid out $117 billion for its monthly national debt payment last month.

Dig deeper: Read Liz Lykins’ report on U.S. debt surpassing GDP for details on how economists reacted.