KUALA LUMPUR (July 30): The US national debt breached US$35 trillion for the first time in the nation’s history on Monday (July 29), as the federal government continued to accumulate debt at a record-setting pace.

New data from the Treasury Department released on Monday afternoon showed that gross national debt hit US$35,001,278,179,208.67.

This comes just months after the US eclipsed the US$34 trillion threshold in early January 2024, while the US$33 trillion mark was reached in September 2023.

By comparison, the national debt hovered around US$907 billion just four decades ago.

The largest budget item was Medicare/ Medicaid at US$1.79 trillion.