The United States’ national debt has passed $37 trillion, the Treasury Department announced on Aug. 12.

This new number, a record high, sits short of the current $41.1 trillion debt limit set on July 4.

However, that number appeared to have been reached sooner than pre-pandemic projections predicted, with the Congressional Budget Office’s January 2020 projections forecasting the gross debt to surpass $37 trillion after fiscal year 2030.

The more rapid increase appeared to be due to the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which featured the shutdown of much of the national economy, requiring the federal government under President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden to borrow more money to stabilize and ensure a recovery.

The United States debt climbed $2 trillion just in the last year of Biden’s presidency alone, hitting the $34 trillion mark in January of 2024, then $35 trillion in July 2024, and then $36 trillion in November 2024.

“We are now adding a trillion more to the national debt every 5 months,” Michael Peterson, Chair and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, said in a statement. “That’s more than twice as fast as the average rate over the last 25 years.”

Now, under the second Trump administration, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the tax cuts and spending included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will increase the deficit by $3.4 trillion over the next decade, resulting in an increase of debt over that time by $4.1 trillion.

While the bill looks to decrease spending by $1.1 trillion, it will also decrease revenue by $4.5 trillion. However, the administration said the tax cuts and its other policies are expected to boost the U.S. economy and expand the tax base, which would grow tax revenue.

Tariffs, meanwhile, have been expected to contribute to revenue, producing a budget surplus of $27 billion in June, according to the Treasury Department.