The U.S. national debt has passed $31 trillion for the first time in history.
Treasury Department data released on today showed the total national debt was $31.123 trillion as of Monday.
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The new milestone was reached even as the federal government's insatiable spending has slowed considerably as the COVID pandemic has waned. In the months following the outbreak, the national debt rose by $1 trillion in just a month’s time – not just once, but twice in 2020.
As a result, the federal government spent $3.1 trillion more than it received in 2020, and it spent $2.8 trillion more than it received the following year.
In 2022, the budget deficit is expected to be about $1 trillion. Some experts believe $1 trillion per year in new debt is the floor given growth in entitlement spending as well as new spending priorities set by Congress this year. Those priorities include the health and environmental policy bill known as the Inflation Reduction Act and assisting Ukraine in its war with Russia.
NATIONAL DEBT NEARS $31 TRILLION AND COUNTING
While much of the drop in the annual budget deficit is due to the easing of emergency COVID spending, President Biden has praised his administration for slowing the rate at which the government accumulates new debt.
"You know, Republicans talk about being fiscally responsible," Biden said in September. "Last year, I reduced the deficit $350 billion. You know how much this year, not counting the Medicaid changes? One trillion seven hundred billion dollars. So I don’t want to hear it from Republicans about fiscal responsibility."
