© 2026 KTEP PUBLIC MEDIA
Your Source for NPR News & Music
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
We are operating on low power due to some issues at our transmitter site. Our engineering staff is working on the issue.

U.S. debt tops $40 trillion

NPR | By Scott Horsley,
Sacha Pfeiffer
Published August 20, 2026 at 2:45 AM MDT

The federal debt is growing even faster than expected. Just paying interest on the $40 trillion balance is now the government's second-largest expense, outpacing everything but Social Security.

Copyright 2026 NPR
Scott Horsley
Scott Horsley is NPR's Chief Economics Correspondent.
See stories by Scott Horsley
Sacha Pfeiffer
Correspondent, Investigations
See stories by Sacha Pfeiffer
Related Stories