The United States government is expected to borrow more than $2 trillion during the current fiscal year, according to updated estimates released by the Treasury Department. The figures underline the growing scale of federal deficits as national debt approaches $39 trillion.
New projections from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) suggest the federal deficit will exceed previous estimates made by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The numbers have renewed concerns among fiscal policy groups and economists about the long-term sustainability of U.S. borrowing levels.
The Treasury’s latest Quarterly Refunding Documents, published on Tuesday, outlined revised financing estimates and debt issuance plans. According to the OMB, the deficit for fiscal year 2026 is now expected to reach $2.06 trillion, while the deficit for fiscal year 2027 is projected at $2.17 trillion.
Those figures exceed earlier CBO estimates, which had forecast deficits of $1.85 trillion for the current fiscal year and $1.89 trillion for the following year. The federal fiscal year ends on September 30.
Borrowing Levels Continue to Rise as Debt Nears $39 Trillion
The latest projections indicate that the federal government will issue more than $166 billion in debt every month during the current fiscal year. From October onwards, that monthly average is expected to increase to around $181 billion. According to Treasury data cited by the Fortune, the U.S. national debt currently stands at $38.91 trillion. The debt burden has continued to expand alongside rising borrowing requirements and growing interest costs.
The report also highlighted the scale of debt servicing payments. Preliminary estimates released last month by the CBO showed that between October 2025 and March 2026, the Treasury paid nearly $530 billion in interest on the national debt. That amounts to more than $88 billion per month, or over $22 billion each week. According to the CBO figures referenced in the Treasury documents, interest payments are now comparable to federal spending on education and defence combined.
Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, described the trend as alarming. “$2 trillion deficits used to be unheard of, and then they only occurred during major recessions—it’s beyond scary that $2 trillion deficits are now the norm,” she said. MacGuineas added that financial markets “will only tolerate our unsustainable borrowing for so long,” warning that the risk of a fiscal crisis continues to rise.
Debate Grows Around Proposed Deficit Reduction Targets
The updated borrowing figures arrive amid renewed discussion in Washington over proposals to limit deficits to 3% of gross domestic product (GDP). Support for such a benchmark has emerged from lawmakers and policy groups across party lines in recent years.
Current deficits are running at more than 6% of GDP, roughly double the proposed target level. Reaching the 3% benchmark by 2036 would require approximately $10 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade. Some policymakers have argued that even a 3% limit may not go far enough, with suggestions that deficit restrictions should eventually be written into the U.S. Constitution.
Frederick Kempe, president and chief executive of the Atlantic Council, said the issue could eventually affect broader economic conditions. Writing in a blog post cited in the report, he warned that higher debt levels, if poorly managed, could contribute to higher mortgage rates and borrowing costs for businesses. Kempe also argued that growing debt repayments could divert resources away from long-term national investment at a time of increasing strategic competition with China.
