The United States borrows approximately 50 billion US dollars per week on average

According to a March 10 report by Fortune magazine, after entering the 2026 fiscal year, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s borrowing has shown no signs of slowing down. The latest monthly budget review report released by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on March 9 indicates that, in the first five months of the 2026 fiscal year (October 2025 to February 2026), the U.S. federal budget deficit totaled $1 trillion.

U.S. media: Two days before taking military action against Iran, $5.6 billion worth of ammunition was used. (Creative image)

The report states that this means the U.S. borrowed an average of about $50 billion per week over these five months. As of February 2026, the borrowing amount alone was estimated to be as high as $308 billion.

The expanding scale of U.S. government borrowing has driven up debt interest expenses. From October 2025 to February 2026, the net interest expense on public debt increased by $31 billion compared to the previous year. Currently, the total U.S. national debt is approaching $38.9 trillion. The CBO pointed out that the main reasons for the increase in interest expenses are “the debt level higher than that of the first five months of 2025 and rising long-term interest rates.”

Maya MacGuineas, chair of the Federal Budget Responsibility Committee, stated that this year’s debt interest payments are expected to exceed $1 trillion, and by 2036, they will surpass $2 trillion. She emphasized, “This situation cannot continue.”

Meanwhile, according to The Washington Post on the 9th, citing three U.S. officials, during the initial two days of the U.S. military strike against Iran on February 28, the Pentagon consumed $5.6 billion worth of ammunition. This figure highlights the high cost of military operations.

Reviewed by | Lu Changyin

Edited by | Xu Luming

Proofread by | Yu Zemiao