Explore/By president
Federal debt added by administration · since 2001
0 have reversed it

Up under every president.

Updated May 28, 2026 · U.S. Treasury (Debt to the Penny)

Key figures
Terms that added debt7 of 7
Largest single term$8.44T
Smallest full term$1.91T
Terms that reversed it0
Federal debt added by term · since 2001

Each bar is the change in total public debt outstanding over a single four-year term — the end-of-term total minus the start-of-term total, using the U.S. Treasury's published figures.

What this means

Each of the last several presidential terms added trillions to the total public debt. Some added more than others, but none bent the curve back down — the debt at the end of every term was higher than at the start.

It's a clean, sourced measure of what happened during a term. It is not a claim about who or what caused it: tax law, wars, recessions, and pandemics all push the number, and most outlast a single presidency.

Why it matters
The direction never changed
Different presidents, different parties, different economic conditions — and the debt rose in every single term on the chart.
Crises dominate the spikes
The biggest jumps line up with the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 pandemic, not with any one party's agenda.
Look at it by party too
Grouping the same terms by party shows the totals are close to even.
See it by party →
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A peek inside
The Weekly Debt NumberFri · May 29
Debt per person
$114,843▲ +$24 / wk
New breakdownInterest vs. defense→
This week's reads
Treasury sells $58B in 7-year notes as yields climb · Reuters
CBO lifts its 2026 deficit estimate to $1.9 trillion · CBO
Net interest on track to top $1T this fiscal year · WSJ
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Each term's figure is the change in total public debt outstanding (U.S. Treasury) from the start to the end of the term, using the nearest month-end record. It marks the period, not the cause — spending is set by Congress and the president together. The newsletter preview is illustrative. DebtPerPerson is independent and nonpartisan, for general education, not financial or political advice.