The US is paying about $24bn a week in interest on the federal debt

Federal borrowing and interest costs through June were reported by Eleanor Pringle at Fortune. The deficit for the first nine months of fiscal 2026 came to just under $1.4tn, against just over $1.3tn in the same stretch of fiscal 2025. That averages about $155bn a month, or $39bn a week. Interest on the debt cost $857bn over the nine months, up about $100bn, or 13 percent, from a year earlier. That is roughly $23.8bn a week. Social Security spending rose $62bn, Medicare $58bn and Medicaid $49bn. Total debt stood at $39.4tn. Maya MacGuineas of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said the full-year deficit is expected to reach $2tn or more.