The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released a new report showing that the US government's nearly $40 trillion national debt is now incurring over $30 billion in interest payments each day.

According to the CBO's August budget update, total net interest on public debt reached $963 billion between October 2025 (the start of the current fiscal year) and July 2026. This breaks down to a monthly interest expense of $96.3 billion, with an average daily interest payment of approximately $3.18 billion over those 303 days.

The CBO noted that debt interest payments have increased by $117 billion, or 14%, compared to the same period last year, driven by two main factors: a higher debt level than the first ten months of the 2025 fiscal year, and rising long-term interest rates. The CBO added that "a decline in short-term interest rates has partially offset the overall rise in interest expenses."

This latest report reinforces the perspective of fiscal hawks, who argue that policymakers are moving in the wrong direction regarding fiscal responsibility. The total federal deficit for the first ten months of the current fiscal year stands at $1.8 trillion, which is $169 billion higher than the deficit for the same period in the previous fiscal year.

Based on these figures, the CBO has raised its full-year deficit forecast, now projecting a deficit of $2.1 trillion for the current fiscal year, which is $200 billion more than its February estimate.