Before the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) did not include the $40 trillion mark in its gross national debt projections for the coming decade, forecasting a gross federal debt of $36 trillion in 2030. By 2022, the CBO expected the country to cross $40 trillion in 2030. A year later, that date had moved up to 2028, and by 2024, it had moved to 2027. The most recent report, from February 2026, projected that we would end the current fiscal year at $39.4 trillion. We have now surpassed the $40 trillion mark.
The last time the federal government had a budget surplus was in FY 2001. Since then, Congress and presidents have overseen deficit after deficit. The previous record holder for the most debt amassed was President Barack Obama, whose two terms saw a $13.2 trillion increase in the national debt, adjusted for inflation.
