U.S. National Debt Surpasses $40 Trillion as Total Federal Liabilities Exceed $176 Trillion

The official U.S. national debt crossed $40 trillion, though a report from Truth in Accounting indicates that total federal liabilities exceed $176 trillion when factoring in promised future benefits.
The missing obligations include $74.5 trillion in unfunded Medicare liabilities, $54 trillion in unfunded Social Security obligations, and $15.5 trillion in military and civilian retirement benefits. After accounting for federal assets, the estimated financial shortfall reaches $170.3 trillion, which amounts to approximately $1.1 million per federal taxpayer.
Net interest payments are projected to exceed $1 trillion in 2026, surpassing projected U.S. defense spending. Meanwhile, the Social Security retirement trust fund is projected to deplete its reserves in late 2032, leaving sufficient revenue to pay only 78% of scheduled benefits without congressional intervention.
In early 2024, when the debt crossed $34 trillion, then-Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that the U.S. was on an "unsustainable fiscal path" and "effectively borrowing from future generations." The debt has grown by nearly $6 trillion since that warning.