Dilara Zengin and Emir Yildirim
28 January 2026•Update: 28 January 2026
WASHINGTON / ISTANBUL
The US’ net interest payments on its national debt rose to $270.3 billion in the first three months of fiscal 2026, surpassing the nation’s defense spending.
The US’ national debt stands at $38.5 trillion, while high interest rates drive up the borrowing costs of the federal government.
US President Donald Trump has been pressuring the Fed to cut the rates particularly because of the rising federal debt, saying Fed Chair Jerome Powell “cost the USA a fortune and continue to do so” due to high interest rates.
The federal government’s spending for the first three months of fiscal 2026, starting on Oct. 1, 2025, and ending on Sep. 30, 2026, was $1.8 trillion, according to the US Treasury Department data.
In October–December 2025, the federal government’s largest spending was in social security, worth $402.1 billion.
Net interest payments followed social security with $270.3 billion, making up 14.8% of total spending.
The federal government spent $266.9 billion on defense, $261.3 billion on healthcare, $254.1 billion on Medicare, $165.6 billion on income securities, $114.1 billion on veteran benefits and services, $39 billion on education, $33.3 billion on transportation, and around $21 billion on other items during the same period.
In fiscal 2025, the interest spending was 2.5 times larger than pre-pandemic levels.
In fiscal 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government’s interest spending was $375.6 billion.
This figure reached $344.7 billion in 2020, $352.3 billion in 2021, $475.1 billion in 2022, $659.2 billion in 2023, $881.7 billion in 2024, and $970.4 billion in 2025.
The US’ growing debt and high interest rates continue to put upwards pressure on borrowing costs. Interest payments are expected to be one of the fastest-growing items in the country’s budget moving forward.
Net interest payments are expected to rise to $1 trillion in fiscal 2026, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), reaching a total of $13.8 trillion in fiscal 2026 and 2035.
