America Is $40 Trillion In Debt. Senate Democrats Want To Make The Problem Even Bigger

Key findings

1. The U.S. national debt surpassed $40 trillion for the first time this week, less than five months after reaching $39 trillion.
2. The federal government has already borrowed $1.8 trillion during the first 10 months of fiscal year 2026, while the Congressional Budget Office projects another $23.1 trillion in deficits through 2035 under current law.
3. Despite that worsening fiscal picture, Democratic Senate candidates across the country are campaigning on Medicare for All, universal child care, higher federal spending and other costly expansions of government.
4. Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, Minnesota Democrat Peggy Flanagan and Illinois Democrat Juliana Stratton all support Medicare for All, a proposal that independent estimates have found could require roughly $30 trillion or more in additional federal spending over a decade.
5. Flanagan has also called for universal child care, national paid family leave and a $20 federal minimum wage, while Stratton supports raising the federal minimum wage to $25.

Full report

## Introduction The Treasury Department reported that gross federal debt surpassed $40 trillion on Aug. 18, just five months after the government crossed the $39 trillion threshold. Debt held by the public, the measure generally considered more economically significant, now exceeds $32 trillion. And the government is still borrowing at a staggering pace. Washington ran a $1.8 trillion deficit during the first 10 months of fiscal year 2026, including $432 billion in July alone. The Congressional Budget Office projects this year's deficit will reach $1.9 trillion before growing to $3.1 trillion annually by 2036. Yet several Democrats seeking Senate seats this November are campaigning on programs that would require Washington to take on substantially more financial responsibility. ### El-Sayed Wants Medicare For All — Without Premiums, Copays Or Deductibles Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed has made Medicare for All one of the defining promises of his campaign. His campaign website lists passing Medicare for All among his three central priorities, and El-Sayed has repeatedly promised a government healthcare system covering Americans from “cradle to grave” without premiums, copays or deductibles. That promise would shift enormous amounts of healthcare spending onto the federal government's books. One analysis of Sen. Bernie Sanders' Medicare for All legislation by the Mercatus Center estimated it would increase federal expenditures by approximately $32.6 trillion during its first 10 years. Other estimates differ depending on the structure of the plan and assumptions about provider payments, utilization and healthcare savings, but analyses consistently find that moving virtually the entire country into a federal insurance program would require tens of trillions of dollars in additional federal spending. El-Sayed argues Americans would save money by eliminating private insurance premiums and other out-of-pocket expenses, and he has proposed higher taxes to help finance the program. But with Washington already borrowing nearly $2 trillion a year, even a Medicare for All plan that replaced substantial private spending would require the federal government to collect or borrow enormous sums it currently does not. ### Flanagan Wants Medicare For All — And That's Only The Beginning Minnesota Democratic Senate candidate Peggy Flanagan is running on a similarly expansive economic agenda. Flanagan's campaign says she believes healthcare is a “human right” and will fight to enact Medicare for All. But healthcare is only one of the new federal commitments she has endorsed. Flanagan has also called for universal child care, national paid family leave and raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $20 an hour. Each proposal comes with a different fiscal impact. A minimum-wage mandate, for example, would primarily impose costs on employers rather than represent a direct federal expenditure. Universal child care and paid family leave, however, could require substantial new government spending depending on how the programs are structured and financed. Those promises come as Washington's existing mandatory programs are already consuming a growing share of the budget. CBO projects spending on Social Security, Medicare and interest on the debt will continue rising faster than the economy over the next decade. Federal spending is expected to increase from 23.3% of gross domestic product this year to 24.4% in 2036. ### Stratton Wants Medicare For All And A $25 Minimum Wage Illinois Democrat Juliana Stratton is offering voters a similar pitch. Stratton has pledged to “fight for Medicare for All,” saying the current healthcare system is “fundamentally broken” and that every American should be guaranteed coverage. She has also called for raising the federal minimum wage to $25 an hour — more than triple the current federal rate. Stratton argues the federal government should make additional investments to reduce economic inequality while imposing higher taxes on wealthy Americans and corporations to help finance her agenda. Higher taxes could offset some new spending. But the sheer scale of programs such as Medicare for All means proposed tax increases would have to raise trillions of dollars simply to prevent the policies from adding to existing deficits. ### Washington Is Already Spending $1 Trillion Just On Interest The biggest warning about America's fiscal condition may not be the $40 trillion headline itself. It is what taxpayers are increasingly paying just to service the debt Washington has already accumulated. CBO projects net interest spending will reach approximately $1 trillion this year — more than federal spending on most individual government programs. By 2036, annual interest costs are projected to more than double to $2.1 trillion. At that point, the government would spend nearly as much on interest as it spends on every discretionary federal program combined. Federal debt held by the public is projected to rise from 101% of GDP this year to 120 percent by 2036, exceeding the record reached immediately after World War II. And those projections assume essentially that current law remains in place. They do not assume Congress creates Medicare for All, universal federal child care or other major new entitlement programs. ### Bottom Line Crossing $40 trillion in debt should be a sign that Washington has already promised more than it can afford. For several Democrats running for Senate this year, however, the answer is to promise even more. El-Sayed, Flanagan and Stratton are campaigning on Medicare for All despite estimates showing a single-payer healthcare system could shift roughly $30 trillion or more onto the federal budget over a decade. Flanagan wants universal child care and paid family leave. Stratton wants a $25 federal minimum wage. Other candidates are similarly calling for Washington to expand healthcare, housing, education and other benefits. Supporters argue those programs can be paid for through higher taxes on wealthy Americans and corporations, while Medicare for All proponents contend government spending would replace money families and businesses currently send to private insurers. But America's existing bills are coming due whether or not Congress creates another program. The government is already borrowing nearly $2 trillion a year. Interest payments are approaching $1 trillion annually. Debt is projected to reach record levels relative to the economy even under current law. The national debt reaching $40 trillion is the clearest evidence yet that Washington has a spending problem. The Democratic Senate candidates promising trillions of dollars in new government commitments appear ready to make it an even bigger one.

Related candidates

• Juliana Stratton
• Abdul El-Sayed
• Peggy Flanagan