Asger Risom
The US government is expected to borrow more than $2 trillion this fiscal year, with rising deficits and soaring interest payments fueling warnings that America’s debt trajectory is becoming increasingly unsustainable.
The US government is on track to borrow more than $2 trillion this fiscal year, according to new Treasury estimates, as concerns grow over the country’s rapidly expanding debt burden and rising interest payments.
Fresh projections released by the Treasury Department show the federal deficit is expected to exceed previous forecasts, with some fiscal analysts warning that trillion-dollar deficits are becoming permanently embedded in the US economy.
Debt keeps climbing
According to Treasury refinancing documents released this week, the Office of Management and Budget now expects the 2026 fiscal year deficit to reach roughly $2.06 trillion.
That figure is significantly higher than earlier Congressional Budget Office projections and would mean the US government is effectively borrowing more than $166 billion every month to continue operating.
The federal fiscal year ends on September 30, with deficits expected to climb even further in 2027 to roughly $2.17 trillion.
At the same time, total national debt is approaching the $39 trillion mark, according to Treasury data.
Critics warn the scale of borrowing is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain as interest costs surge alongside debt levels.
Interest payments explode
Servicing America’s debt is now consuming enormous amounts of federal spending.
Preliminary estimates from the Congressional Budget Office show the Treasury paid nearly $530 billion in debt interest payments between October 2025 and March 2026 alone.
That works out to roughly $88 billion per month, or more than $22 billion every week, simply to cover interest obligations.
Fiscal watchdog Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, warned the scale of the deficits would once have been associated only with major economic crises.
“$2 trillion deficits used to be unheard of,” MacGuineas said, according to Fortune. “It’s beyond scary that $2 trillion deficits are now the norm.”
Frederick Kempe, president of the Atlantic Council, also warned that rising debt levels could eventually undermine investor confidence in the United States.
“Trust doesn’t collapse overnight,” Kempe wrote. “It slips incrementally until the terms on which the United States borrows, invests, and leads begin to change.”
Pressure builds in Washington
The growing deficit debate is intensifying pressure on lawmakers in Washington as economists argue current borrowing levels are far above sustainable targets.
Some policymakers have pushed for deficits to remain below 3% of GDP, but current projections sit at more than double that level.
Analysts estimate hitting a 3% target by 2036 would require roughly $10 trillion in deficit reductions over the next decade.
The concerns come as the US faces rising geopolitical competition with China, elevated interest rates and mounting long-term spending obligations tied to healthcare, pensions and defence.
Economists increasingly warn that if debt continues rising unchecked, future governments could face higher borrowing costs, weaker economic flexibility and reduced capacity to respond during future crises.
Sources: U.S. Treasury, Fortune
