CBO projected interest on the National Debt is $663 billion for FY2023 and is projected to rise to $1.4 trillion in the next decade and exceed $1 trillion by 2030. At the current rate the interest payment is expected to consume a larger portion of both the budget and GDP in the next decade. Congress currently spends more on the interest payment than transportation, education and veterans benefits. Interest payments are expected to surpass spending on social welfare programs by FY2024 and even the defense budget by FY2028.
In the beginning of 2020, I noted that the interest on the national debt was projected to increase 186% over the next decade while GDP was only expected to increase 53% over the same period. It appears the pandemic era near zero rates was only a temporary road block to the unsustainable growth in interest payments on the debt.