US Treasury debt breaches $30 trillion mark, doubling from 2018

The total amount of sovereign debt issued by the US Treasury has exceeded $30 trillion for the first time, more than doubling since 2018. Data released on Thursday showed that as of November, the total amount of outstanding treasury securities (Treasury bills), medium-term Treasury bonds (notes) and long-term Treasury bonds (bonds) of the US government reached $30.20 trillion. This $30.20 trillion debt is the main component of the total US federal debt. As of November, the total US national debt reached $38.40 trillion, which includes arrears to social security trust funds, savings bond holders and so on. According to the data of the securities industry and financial marekt association, the US raised 4.30 trillion dollars through the issuance of these three types of government bonds in 2020, and the fiscal deficit exceeded 3 trillion dollars that year. While the deficit has since narrowed - to about $1.78 trillion in fiscal 2025 - interest payments on debt alone are $1.20 trillion. "The biggest challenge is interest payments," notes Jason Williams, interest rate strategist at Citigroup. "Even at $3,000- $400 billion in tariff revenues, it's still well below what we're paying on existing debt. We're in quicksand, and tariffs may be sinking us a little slower, but they're still sinking."