Persistent large federal deficits, projected by the Congressional Budget Office at $1.9 trillion for fiscal year 2026 and rising thereafter, continue to drive steady increases in the gross national debt, currently near $38.9 trillion. Mandatory spending on entitlements and net interest costs, now exceeding $1 trillion annually, outpace revenue growth under current law, with debt held by the public already at 100 percent of GDP and forecast to reach 120 percent by 2036. No surplus-producing reforms have emerged from recent budget or debt-ceiling processes, and daily borrowing adds roughly $7 billion. Traders therefore price the debt to hit successive new highs through the end of 2026, with little scope for a peak before 2027 absent major legislative or economic shifts.