'Could be very ugly': Alarm bells ring after US hits ominous milestone

A former Republican senator sounded the alarm on Tuesday after the U.S. notched a dubious mark.

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that the U.S. debt is likely to hit $40 trillion this week, several months ahead of schedule, partly due to President Donald Trump's invalidated tariffs. The report notes that the new debt arrived at a "perilous moment," as inflation and rising geopolitical risk cause investors to flee from government bonds.

Speaking to CNN's Erica Hill, former Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania warned that the U.S.'s debt has become nearly unmanageable. That poses significant economic headwinds to future generations, he added.

"Republicans are in power rightnow. Is fiscal responsibility atthis point a thing of the past?" Hill asked.

Toomey's answer was alarming.

"Well, if you look at what'sactually happened legislatively,yes," Toomey said. "But it's a thing of thefuture one way or another,because we can't continue onthis path of huge deficits, [and] mounting debt. At some point,something's going to give, andit could be very ugly."

The Post's reporting suggests that the rising debt could tee up another fight in Congress next year over raising the debt ceiling.

"For the past quarter-century,the national debt has grown under both parties, through the tax cuts of the George W. Bush era, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Great Recession, the 2017 Trump tax cuts and the nearly $2 trillion Biden administration initiative to prop up the economy during the coronavirus pandemic," the Post noted. "Trump pledged during his first campaign in 2016 to eliminate the debt within eight years; instead, it has doubled since he first took office."