Former U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said the milestone could arrive within two weeks as 30-year Treasury yields top 5.2% and concern grows over deficits, interest costs and debt relative to GDP.
U.S. national debt has climbed above $39.93 trillion and is on track to cross $40 trillion within two weeks, a milestone former U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said shows politicians are ignoring a major threat to younger Americans. The warning comes as the 30-year U.S. Treasury bond yield (long-term government borrowing cost) has moved above 5.2%, its highest since 2007, amid concern over expanding federal deficits, heavy Treasury issuance and persistent inflation. Haley said Washington was borrowing $60,000 every second and paying $24 billion a week in interest, while former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and investor Jason Calacanis also criticized the fiscal path, with Calacanis saying President Donald Trump was on track to add more debt in his second term than in his first. Publicly held federal debt topped 100% of gross domestic product in July for the first time since 1946, and the U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio (debt compared with economic output) now stands at 123.30%.