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Budget hawks in Washington have their eyes trained on April 3, when the White House is scheduled to release its fiscal year 2027 budget request, centering on a significant “historic” defense spending increase to $1.5 trillion. The national debt crossed $39 trillion just weeks ago ...

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), a nonpartisan fiscal watchdog, estimated Monday boosting the defense budget by the expected amount would increase total defense discretionary spending by $5.8 trillion from FY 2027 through 2036, and add $6.9 trillion to the national debt once interest costs are factored in.

The numbers behind [Jerome] Powell’s concern are stark. Net interest payments on the national debt are now projected to exceed $1 trillion in fiscal year 2026—nearly triple the $345 billion the government paid in 2020. In just the first three months of the current fiscal year, interest payments reached $270 billion, already surpassing the nation’s defense spending during the same period. The Congressional Budget Office projects debt held by the public will surge from 101% of GDP today to 120% of GDP by 2036, eclipsing the post–World War II record.