The Treasury Department reported on Tuesday that the U.S. national debt increased by $1 trillion in less than a year to a record level of $37 trillion.

It is reportedly the highest deficit level in the country’s history. The previous record was $36 trillion, set in November 2024, and the $35 trillion mark in July 2024. The current deficit total sits at $37,004,817,625,842.56 as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the Treasury Department.

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The Treasury Department data show that the government continues to spend money at dangerously high levels. Even more concerning is that the debt hit the $37 trillion mark years before it was expected, at least based on pre-pandemic assessments.

Previously, it was estimated that the deficit would not surpass $37 trillion until after fiscal 2030, the Associated Press reported. However, this total was based on estimations by the Congressional Budget Office in January 2020, weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic began. 

Government spending during the COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased the U.S. national debt. According to the Tax Policy Center, financial relief initiatives by the government cost over $5 trillion. This included the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of March 2020, with a total cost of $2.0 trillion; the Consolidated Appropriations Act of December 2020, with a cost of $868 billion; and the American Rescue Plan Act of March 2021, with a cost of $1.9 trillion.” 

With the most recent data showing the debt surpassing $37 trillion this year, Fox Business projects that the U.S. national debt will “reach 99% of the size of the U.S. gross domestic product.” Moreover, with the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the CBO estimated it would add $3.4 trillion to the national debt within the next ten years.

“We are now adding a trillion more to the national debt every 5 months,” said Michael Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, a think tank dedicated to “putting America on a sustainable fiscal path.”

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“That’s more than twice as fast as the average rate over the last 25 years,” Peterson added.

“The national debt soaring past $37 trillion sends yet another clear message about America’s unsustainable fiscal path,” said Peterson. “Our national debt is now greater than the economies of the entire Eurozone and China, combined.”