Rep. Thomas Massie said Wednesday that the growing burden of interest payments on the national debt is the direct result of policies he opposed in Congress, a stance that he says cost him his re-election bid. Massie said in a post on X that every American is paying $4,000 per year in interest on the debt to banks and foreign countries, and that a family of four owes $16,000 per year for nothing but interest. He lost his Kentucky primary in May to President Donald Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein after Trump campaigned against him for opposing his tax legislation and other party priorities. Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley separately warned that Social Security could go bankrupt within five years, affecting 75 million Americans, as the national debt crossed $40.05 trillion this week. Interest payments on the debt have reached nearly $1.2 trillion this year, now the largest federal expense after Social Security and Medicare, as the 30-year Treasury yield climbed to a 19-year high this week.
Rising Treasury yields and debt interest burden are negative for bond prices, implying higher yields.
