National Debt Reaches $35 Trillion For First Time In US History

The national debt surpassed $35 trillion on Monday for the first time in U.S. history as exorbitant federal spending continues under President Joe Biden.

Since Biden was inaugurated, the national debt has increased by over $7 trillion, from $27.7 trillion on January 20, 2021 to now over $35 trillion as of July 29, 2024. If the debt were to be divided among the roughly 258.3 million adults in the U.S., each adult would have roughly $135,500.

“The way in which the United States government was able to become so cripplingly indebted reminds of the old adage about how one goes bankrupt: at first very slowly, and then very quickly,” Peter C. Earle, senior economist at the American Institute for Economic Research, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The story of the last sixty or seventy years has been one in which the US government has arrogated to itself an increasing number of roles, many of which are vastly outside the purview of the US Constitution. As the Federal government has come to play an increasing role in the lives of everyday citizens and on the world stage, costs have risen vastly beyond what taxes cover.”

BREAKING: US National Debt just broke $35 TRILLION for the first time ever.

$103,827 debt per US citizen.

Wars don’t pay for themselves… pic.twitter.com/YDeNYm23ee

— Radar (@RadarHits) July 29, 2024

“Politics in democratic states tend, over time, to embrace high time preference behaviors: spend now and worry about the consequences later,” Earle told the DCNF. “There are few incentives on either side of the proverbial aisle to live within our means. And as US citizens and foreign powers have become increasingly reliant upon US government spending, demands for more programs and services have risen. Those expectations have long outstripped what mere taxation can provide, and so we have a monstrous tower of debt – which continues to rise.”

Several of the Biden administration’s initiatives, like the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act have hiked up the federal deficit. The American Rescue Plan, which passed in March 2021, authorized $1.9 trillion in spending, and the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed in August 2022, approved another $750 billion in spending.

“Politicians spend taxpayer dollars and encourage lofty borrowing to satisfy their constituencies, whether those are activists, corporations, foreign powers, or other interest groups,” Earle told the DCNF. “There’s no reason for any US government official not to kick the can down the road. But at some indeterminate point in the future the crushing weight of debt will come down, and whoever happens to be sitting in the Oval Office, in both houses of Congress, and in the various Cabinets and agency positions in Washington DC will finally have to answer for it.”

Biden has also been a big proponent of student loan debt forgiveness and has so far forgiven $168.5 billion across 4.76 million student loan borrowers, according to the Department of Education. Most recently, the Biden administration forgave another $1.2 billion on July 18 to forgive debt across 35,000 borrowers. (RELATED: Foreign Aid And Student Loan Forgiveness Behind Massive Increase In Deficit Estimate, Congressional Budget Office Says)

“In any scenario other than its resolution by payment in full and the satisfaction of the borrowing terms, there are a handful of likely outcomes: much higher interest rates on US debt, much higher taxes, slower growth, and quite possibly rising inflation,” Earle told the DCNF. “Perhaps most of all: the sudden realization that so many of the government-funded goods and services that Americans are dependent upon have their foundation in irresponsible, heedless borrowing rather than thrift and industry.”

During former President Donald Trump’s administration, the national debt also increased by $8 trillion. Nearly half of the debt added during his term was through the CARES Act and other COVID-19 relief.

“After the last administration increased the debt by a record $8 trillion and didn’t sign a single law to reduce the deficit, President Biden has signed $1 trillion of deficit reduction into law,” Jeremy Edwards, a White House Spokesperson, told the DCNF. “While Congressional Republicans want to blow up the debt again with $5 trillion in more Trump tax cuts—while making hardworking families pay the price by cutting Social Security, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act—President Biden’s budget would lower the deficit by $3 trillion by making billionaires and the biggest corporations pay their fair share and cutting spending on special interests.”

Editor’s Note: This piece was updated to include a comment from White House Spokesperson Jeremy Edwards. 

Featured Image Credit: DHS photo by Tia Dufour