US national debt is now bigger than the economy for first time since Second World War

NewsWorldAmericasUS politicsUS national debt is now bigger than the economy for first time since Second World WarLawmakers urged to ‘stop the bleeding’ and put the country on a more sustainable fiscal pathJoe Sommerlad Friday 01 May 2026 09:35 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2968676","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/us-national-debt-gdp-trump-b2968676.html","title":"US national debt is now bigger than the economy for first time since Second World War"}}CloseRelated: Tucker Carlson lashes out at President Donald Trump for failing the country: ‘You’d rather run the world’Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailGet our free Inside Washington emailEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_INSIDE_WASHINGTON","regTitle":"Inside Washington","subscriptionGroup":"inside_washington","subscriptionGroupId":"af764e04-87eb-45e6-a84b-a7455ba70a1e","type":"inside_washington","pathPrefix":"/news/world/americas/us-politics","associatedAuthors":["Eric Garcia","John Bowden"],"title":"Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox","mobileTitle":"Get our free Inside Washington email","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/insideWashington1_1.png","label":"I would like to receive morning headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts by email","newsletterKey":"receiveInsideWashingtonNews","regSourceSection":"US politics","regSourceMethod":"NSCs"},"isCl...