National debt hits $20 trillion for first time in history

Published September 11, 2017 8:21pm ET



The national debt exceeded $20 trillion for the first time ever on Friday, the same day President Trump signed a bill into law that suspended the debt ceiling and allowed unlimited federal borrowing.

The debt ceiling had been frozen at about $19.84 trillion since mid-March, and the Treasury Department was forced to use “extraordinary measures” to prevent borrowing from exceeding that level.

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