• Republican Joint Economic Committee chairman warns national debt threatens children’s economic future the same week CBO confirms the GOP’s own tax law added $4.7 trillion to deficits
• National debt hit $38.6 trillion with over $1 trillion added in the first four months of fiscal year 2026 alone, while interest payments approach $1 trillion annually
• Budget watchdogs from both parties say the contradiction between Republican fiscal rhetoric and voting records has reached a breaking point

WASHINGTON, DC (TDR) — On Wednesday, Representative David Schweikert — the Republican chairman of the Joint Economic Committee — issued a stark warning about the national debt reaching $38.6 trillion, declaring the country is “threatening the economic future of our children and grandchildren.” The warning arrived just one week after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office confirmed that the GOP national debt legislation Republicans passed last summer — the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — will add $4.7 trillion to deficits through 2035 when accounting for interest and economic effects.

The timing presents a contradiction that budget analysts across the political spectrum have struggled to reconcile: the same party now sounding the fiscal alarm voted overwhelmingly for legislation that the CBO says represents the most expensive law passed by Congress since the 2012 American Taxpayer Relief Act.

The Alarming Numbers Behind GOP National Debt Warnings

The figures Schweikert cited are genuinely alarming. According to the Joint Economic Committee’s monthly debt update, the national debt has increased by $2.35 trillion over the past year — averaging $6.43 billion per day, $267 million per hour and roughly $74,000 per second. In the first four months of fiscal year 2026 alone, the federal government added more than $1 trillion in new debt.

“We continue to hit new record highs for our national debt, exacerbating an already economic threat our nation faces. In this fiscal year alone, we have added more than $1 trillion, bringing the total to $38.647 trillion.”

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Schweikert warned that interest payments are accelerating the crisis faster than many lawmakers realize.

“As we continue down this path of spending borrowed money, interest payments are on track to become one of the largest drivers of federal spending, and eventually, the largest line item in the budget.”

The CBO’s February 2026 budget outlook confirmed the trajectory. Debt held by the public will grow from roughly $31 trillion today to $56 trillion by 2036 — reaching 120% of GDP and surpassing the previous record set after World War II. Net interest costs alone will more than double, from $970 billion in 2025 to $2.1 trillion by 2036.

“CBO’s latest baseline shows an unsustainable fiscal outlook, with debt approaching record levels, deficits remaining elevated at more than twice a reasonable target, and interest costs exploding.”

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That assessment came from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan watchdog that has been equally critical of spending under both parties.

The Legislation Republicans Actually Passed

Here is where the contradiction becomes impossible to ignore. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed by President Donald Trump on July 4, 2025, permanently extended trillions in tax cuts from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act while adding new tax breaks including no taxes on tips and overtime. The CBO scored it at $3.4 trillion in added deficits over 10 years — or $4.7 trillion when accounting for interest and macroeconomic effects.

The Bipartisan Policy Center broke down the math: $4.5 trillion in reduced tax revenue, partially offset by $1.4 trillion in spending cuts — many targeting Medicaid and food assistance programs. The legislation also included a $5 trillion increase in the debt ceiling, effectively giving Congress permission to borrow more money while its members warned about borrowing too much.

Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, captured the disconnect directly.

“It’s still hard to believe that policymakers just added $4 trillion to the debt. Many supporters of this law have spent months or years appropriately fuming about our unsustainable fiscal situation. But when they actually had an opportunity to fix it, they instead made it $4 trillion worse.”

MacGuineas also noted that supporters used an accounting maneuver — a “current policy” baseline instead of actual current law — to make the tax extensions appear cost-free, calling it “a dangerous game” that reached “new levels with this bill.”

The GOP National Debt Defense: Growth Will Cover It

Republicans have not been silent on the contradiction. House Budget Committee Chairman Jody Arrington argued that the pro-growth economic effects of tax cuts are not fully captured in CBO models. In response to the CBO’s February projections, Arrington acknowledged the fiscal trajectory is unsustainable but pointed to early signs of stronger growth.

“Not surprisingly, we have seen two quarters of stronger-than-expected economic growth since WFTC passed, which is exactly what I expected to happen when I voted for this bill, and what Republicans intended to happen when we wrote the bill.”

“It is critical that we account for the progress that we’ve made and apply a fuller understanding of the positive impact of these pro-growth tax policies.”

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