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Is the federal government spending more on debt payments than defense in 2024?

By Tom Kertscher
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YES

Interest payments on the federal debt will be $870 billion in 2024, exceeding $822 billion spent on defense, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected in February 2024.

Interest payments have never exceeded defense outlays, at least dating back to 1940, said the nonprofit Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

The $870 billion in interest payments is 32% higher than the $659 billion in 2023. The increases exceeded 35% in each of the previous two years.

Through December, cumulative federal debt was $34 trillion.

The annual deficit in fiscal 2020 under Donald Trump and during COVID was $3.1 trillion — three times higher than the previous year. In the next three years under President Joe Biden, the deficits were $2.8 trillion, $1.4 trillion and $1.7 trillion.

The interest payments-defense claim was made Feb. 21, 2024, by Republican Eric Hovde, who is challenging U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., in the 2024 election.

See a full discussion of this at Wisconsin Watch
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Congressional Budget Office The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2024 to 2034
Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Do We Spend More On Interest Than Defense?-2024-02-20
treasury.gov U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data
Midwest Communications Guest: Eric Hovde - The Meg Ellefson Show 022124
FRED (Federal Reserve Bank Of St. Louis) Federal Reserve Bank Of St. Louis
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.