Source: Independent Institute
by Craig Eyermann
“”The U.S. government paid just under $1.36 trillion of interest on the national debt during its 2026 fiscal year. That makes 2026 the third year in a row the federal government paid out more than a trillion dollars of gross interest to all its creditors. The government’s net interest payments came in a little over $1.05 trillion. That’s the first time Uncle Sam’s net interest payments have ever exceeded $1 trillion. … According to the Congressional Budget Office, most of the $308 billion difference between its gross and net interest payments represents money Uncle Sam ‘owes’ to itself. The net interest the government pays goes to people and institutions outside the U.S. government.” (11/12/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/11/12/government-owes-itself/