---
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/296404967.md"
description: "On Tuesday, the U.S. federal debt surpassed the $40 trillion mark, doubling in ten years. Fiscal hawks strongly criticized this, with Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, urging lawmakers to take action as soon as possible, pointing out that the debt-to-GDP ratio has risen to 122%, warning that warning signs are emerging"
datetime: "2026-08-19T21:56:16.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/296404967.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296404967.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/296404967.md)
---

# 

On Tuesday, the U.S. federal debt surpassed the critical milestone of $40 trillion, and total debt has doubled in less than a decade. U.S. fiscal hawks immediately expressed strong criticism. Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, called on lawmakers to take action, stating, "No one knows how much more of this milestone the U.S. can bear." In a statement, she said, "Regardless of what motivation our government officials need to finally take action—whether it comes from concerns of domestic voters, warning signals from financial markets, foreign competition, or the consequences of inaction—it should happen as soon as possible." She also emphasized that "other warning signals are also emerging," such as the rising ratio of debt to the size of the economy. In the first quarter of 2026, the national debt of the United States is approximately 122% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $31.87 trillion

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