Defense Budget’s Rise Is Eclipsed by Debt Service

While the U.S. military budget has rocketed up from about $700 billion in Trump’s last year in office to $847 billion now, another national cost—interest on the federal debt—has risen much faster, and surpassed it. Interest annually on the federal debt was about $350 billion at the turn of the century; $415 billion at the time of the 2008 financial crash, and more than $500 billion in 2020. In 2021-22, however, with the total federal debt rising by 20% and interest rates on it, long near zero, suddenly ranging from 2% to over 5% depending on the duration and month of issue of the Treasury security, interest payments on the federal debt reached $853 billion in 2022 according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and a report from the Clemson University College of Business. The rise in that cost is still accelerating.