The landmark number comes months earlier than forecasters anticipated.
The U.S. national debt has officially surpassed $40 trillion, the U.S. Treasury Department reported Wednesday.
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In its latest Daily Treasury Statement, the agency said “total public debt outstanding” stood at $40,047,426,000 as of Tuesday afternoon.
The milestone has arrived months earlier than forecasters previously expected, in part because of billions of dollars in lost revenue from President Donald Trump’s invalidated tariffs.
The faster accumulation of debt comes at a perilous moment, as an array of concerns — including soaring government debt — prompted investors to dump government bonds this week, raising the price of borrowing.
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It also hastens the moment when Congress will next need to raise the federal debt limit to avoid the risk of an economy-shattering default. The legal cap on borrowing is set at $41.1 trillion, a level Treasury is expected to hit early next year.
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