The U.S. national debt officially crossed $40 trillion on Tuesday, a milestone that arrived just as long-term Treasury yields climbed to their highest levels in more than two decades, adding to the mounting cost of financing America’s growing pile of borrowing.
‘Washington Keeps Spending Money’
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley had predicted the debt would cross $40 trillion this week, and the milestone arrived just as she forecast.
In a post on X, Haley said the figure amounts to over $300,000 for every household in America and that “Washington keeps spending money we don’t have like the bill is never coming due.”
America is about to hit $40 trillion in debt this week.
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) August 18, 2026
That’s over $300,000 for every household in America.
Washington keeps spending money we don’t have like the bill is never coming due.
👇 https://t.co/2bK7IYo2rV
Investor Anthony Pompliano called the $40 trillion milestone “insane.”
The US national debt has officially crossed $40 trillion.
— Anthony Pompliano 🌪 (@APompliano) August 18, 2026
$40,000,000,000,000.
Just insane.
At the time of writing, the debt stood at $40,005,709,160,531.
The Debt is Getting More Expensive to Carry
The Kobeissi Letter said U.S. interest expense on the national debt hit a record $1.4 trillion over the past 12 months, nearly tripling since 2020, with interest payments projected to climb to $1.7 trillion by November 2028 and overtake Social Security as the government’s single largest outlay.
BREAKING: US margin debt dropped -$85 billion in July, to $1.42 trillion, the largest monthly decline on record.
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) August 18, 2026
This also marks the first monthly decrease since March.
By comparison, the 2nd-biggest monthly drop was recorded in January 2022 at -$80 billion, just as the bear… pic.twitter.com/scrhStGdJd
That rising cost showed up in the bond market this week, with the 10-year Treasury note auction clearing at a yield of 4.683%, its highest level in 19 years, while the 30-year bond auction stopped at 5.216%, a 25-year peak.
Charlie Bilello, chief market strategist at investment firm Creative Planning, pointed to a similar warning sign abroad, noting that Japan’s 30-year bond yield has spiked to a record 4.05%, calling it “a preview of what’s coming for the US if we don’t get our deficit/debt spiral under control.”
Japan’s 30-year bond yield has spiked to 4.05% – the highest level on record. A preview of what’s coming for the US if we don’t get our deficit/debt spiral under control. The chickens eventually come home to roost.
— Charlie Bilello (@charliebilello) August 18, 2026
Video: https://t.co/9vaPqoODUl pic.twitter.com/NK4OF4s55U
The Milestone is Fueling a Political Blame Fight
Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene blamed “years of foreign wars and Congress spending too much money,” warning that the national debt could climb past $50 trillion by 2032 with annual interest surpassing $2 trillion.
Years of foreign wars and Congress spending too much money is why we are in this position.
— Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@FmrRepMTG) August 18, 2026
And they are still waging more war, which requires more money.
Just wait until Social Security goes bankrupt in 2032, the national debt is well past $50 T, and the interests is over $2 T. https://t.co/1f48WBaX97
Well-known Wall Street financier Steve Rattner noted that Trump had promised to balance the budget and that Elon Musk had projected $2 trillion in savings, but said the deficit instead grew 18% this year, partly due to $200 billion in refunds tied to Trump’s tariffs.
Trump promised to balance the budget.
— Steve Rattner (@SteveRattner) August 18, 2026
Musk projected $2 trillion in savings.
This year, the deficit grew by 18% — with $200 billion of that due to refunds of his illegal tariffs.
My @nytopinion Chart pic.twitter.com/aSuK1r67VU
Bilello added that debt has grown by roughly $600 billion since July 1 alone, calling it evidence that Washington is “spending money like drunken sailors.“
US National Debt has increased by ~$600 billion since July 1st.
— Charlie Bilello (@charliebilello) August 18, 2026
The Federal Government is borrowing from our future to spend money like drunken sailors today.
Everything they said about "cutting spending" and "balancing the budget" was a lie.
Video: https://t.co/9vaPqoODUl pic.twitter.com/wzws1pDkv1
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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