US endures historic $355 billion increase in national debt in one day

The United States experienced a significant and historic increase in its national debt, with reports indicating that the total public debt jumped by $355.4 billion in a single day, which occurred on Monday, July 8, 2025. This unprecedented rise elevated the national debt total above $36.5 trillion, a stark increase from $34.8 trillion just one year prior. The surge can be largely attributed to the passage of the latest omnibus spending bill by Congress, which President Donald Trump signed into law. This bill included the largest-ever increase to the debt limit of $5 trillion. Prior to this increase, the federal government had been managing a series of large deficits under the existing debt limit. The Treasury Department had employed various strategies to borrow from different federal accounts, allowing it to keep spending without breaching the then-existing debt ceiling. With the approval and enactment of the new spending bill, the Treasury is now in a position to issue new debt, settle its internal debts, and resume its accumulation of official debt. Furthermore, part of the reason for the ballooning debt is to ensure the Treasury maintains sufficient cash reserves. As indicated by reports from Bloomberg, the Treasury plans to raise its cash balance in the General Account to around $500 billion by the end of July 2025, a significant rise from approximately $313 billion at the start of the month. This strategy appears to be part of a measured approach to enhance the Treasury’s cash reserves while allowing for the issuing of debt to fund ongoing deficits. On the following day after the initial increase, the federal government recorded an additional rise of $43 billion in debt. This brings the total deficit incurred over the two-day period to nearly $410 billion, underscoring the dramatic nature of the current financial and budgetary situation within the United States. The sheer magnitude of these figures suggests that the nation's fiscal situation is becoming increasingly strained, as spending continues unabated while substantial sums accumulate under the debt cap.