The costs of interest on the US national debt surpassed $1 trillion in the first quarter of 2024, caused by high interest rates and the country’s historic $34 trillion national debt.
Government debt increased from $5.7 trillion to $10.7 trillion under George Bush, increased to $19.8 trillion under Barack Obama, increased to $27.7 trillion under Donald Trump and has now reached $34 trillion under Joe Biden. Spending on the COVID-19 pandemic shot the debt up on what was already an upward trajectory.
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According to the St. Louis Fed, in Quarter One of 2024 the federal government saw its interest payment rise to $1.059 trillion.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the US will spend $870 servicing its debt by making interest payments this year, officially outpacing its spending on national defense.
Shane Devine is a writer covering politics and business for VT and a regular guest on The Unusual Suspects. Follow Shane’s work here.
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