U.S. Debt Questions Raised by Trump

By Jeff Mason and Andy Sullivan

(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday stated that his administration was scrutinizing U.S. Treasury debt payments for potential fraud, suggesting that the nation’s $36 trillion debt might be exaggerated.

While speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump mentioned that officials have been reviewing payment records to identify wasteful spending and are now focusing on debt payments that are critical to the global financial system.

> “We’re even looking at Treasuries,” Trump remarked. “There could be a problem – you’ve been reading about that, with Treasuries, and that could be an interesting problem.”

He elaborated, “It could be that a lot of those things don’t count. In other words, that some of that stuff that we’re finding is very fraudulent; therefore, maybe we have less debt than we thought.”

It remains unclear whether Trump was referencing debt service or other Treasury Department payments. The current U.S. public debt stands at $36.2 trillion, accounting for over 120% of GDP. Since the U.S. government spends more than it collects, Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress will need to authorize further borrowing this year to prevent a debt default with dire consequences.

Trump’s proposed tax cuts could lead to trillions more in debt, according to independent budget watch groups.

Additionally, Trump has assigned Elon Musk to lead a significant overhaul of the federal government, causing protests in Washington and allegations of legal violations by the administration.

Musk’s initiative, called the “Department of Government Efficiency,” has disrupted operations at various federal agencies, raising privacy and security issues after accessing sensitive payroll and spending records.

On Saturday, a federal judge temporarily barred Musk’s team from accessing government systems that handle trillions in payments, citing concerns regarding potential unauthorized disclosures of sensitive data.

In response to the ruling, Musk proposed that a do-not-pay list for entities not qualifying for government payments be updated at least weekly, if not daily.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, appointed by Trump, stated last week that Musk’s team had only “read only” access to the payment system, which would not allow them to effect changes.

Trump’s efforts to freeze substantial portions of domestic aid have faced legal challenges, yet project managers nationwide report that billions in funding for clean energy and transportation initiatives have been withheld.

Some health clinics have been forced to lay off staff and shut down facilities due to their inability to access federal funds.