US debt breaches $40 trillion, charts trace the long ascent

The U.S. national debt has surpassed $40 trillion according to Treasury data, marking roughly a 600% increase since 2000 and about $116,800 per American. Four charts illustrate the growth, debt by president (Obama, Trump, Biden), the shift from deficits (last surplus was 2001) to spending, and a visualization comparing $1 trillion to median household income, with COVID-19 spending driving much of the rise; Biden's term accounts for the largest dollar increase at about $8.45 trillion, followed by Trump and Obama by percentage terms.