New Delhi, Aug. 20 -- The total US debt has topped $40 trillion for the first time, data released by the Treasury Department on Wednesday showed, reported CBS News. According to the Treasury Department's daily financial report, US debt reached $40.05 trillion on 18 August, more than double its level in 2017. This includes Treasury securities held by the public of $32.266 trillion and intra-governmental debt holdings of $7.782 trillion.

Data showed that the largest federal budget items are Medicare/Medicaid combined (nearly $2 trillion), Social Security (over $1.6 trillion), national defence ($946 billion) and interest on the debt (over $1 trillion).

Maya MacGuineas, President of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget...