Debt service.

Groundskeeping

August 20, 2026 · Ibid.

Editorial cartoon: in the gravel service yard behind a huge Treasury building, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent kneels in rolled shirtsleeves misting a limp, wilting banknote marked with a yen sign that is tied to a bamboo garden stake, using a watering can marked with a dollar sign. Beside him a plain steel side door lettered CREDITOR is opening, a cuffed hand already on the handle. Caption below: Debt service.

U.S. federal debt topped $40 trillion for the first time this week, the Treasury Department reported — roughly double its 2017 level. Annual interest on the debt now exceeds $1 trillion, making it the government's second-largest expense after Social Security. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced an expanded bond buy-back program, and Treasury had earlier taken steps to prop up the Japanese yen so Japan would not be tempted to sell some of its U.S. Treasurys.