Three things to know about the $40 trillion federal debt

The U.S. federal debt hit a record $40 trillion this week. The debt has doubled since 2017, and just paying interest on the accumulated debt now costs the government more than $1 trillion a year.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/8216x5477+0+0/resize/8216x5477!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb6%2Fa0%2F506bb6d54c868aa88475ac2c643a%2Fgettyimages-2290607514.jpg' alt='The federal debt topped $40 trillion for the first time this week. Investors who buy government bonds are demanding higher interest rates to finance the growing debt load.'/><p>The U.S. federal debt hit a record $40 trillion this week. The debt has doubled since 2017, and just paying interest on the accumulated debt now costs the government more than $1 trillion a year.</p><p>(Image credit: Mandel Ngan)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-5939473' />