USA debt when Biden left office
This fact-check may be outdated. Consider refreshing it to get the most current information.
Executive summary
When President Biden left office in January 2025, headline measures show the federal debt rose from about $27.6–$27.75 trillion at the start of his term to roughly $36.2 trillion by mid-January 2025, an increase in the neighborhood of $8.4 trillion (Self; Investopedia) [1] [2]. Expert fiscal trackers qualify those totals: the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) reports about $27.6 trillion of debt held by the public under Biden and estimates he “approved” roughly $4.7 trillion in new ten‑year borrowing through legislation and executive actions over his four years [3] [4].
1. The raw numbers: which debt figure are we talking about?
Different outlets report different headline figures because they track distinct measures—gross federal debt, debt held by the public, and nominal balances on different dates. Self and Investopedia cite a jump from about $27.75 trillion on Jan. 20, 2021, to about $36.2 trillion by Jan. 17, 2025—a roughly $8.4 trillion rise [1] [2]. CRFB emphasizes “debt held by the public,” which it says grew to about $27.6 trillion under Biden, and stresses Treasury cash balances can distort headline year‑to‑year changes [3].
2. Legislative versus accounting responsibility: what does “added to the debt” mean?
CRFB separates debt increases that presidents “approve” via legislation and executive actions from the day‑to‑day balance changes driven by economic cycles, interest costs, and Treasury cash holdings. It estimates Biden approved $4.7 trillion in new ten‑year debt through laws and executive moves from January 2021–January 2025, including both deficit‑increasing and deficit‑reducing actions; excluding major COVID relief, their net tallies differ [4]. That contrasts with simple headline debt growth totals reported elsewhere [4] [3].
3. The COVID effect and timing complications
A substantial portion of the early Biden‑era borrowing reflects pandemic relief enacted in early 2021—the American Rescue Plan alone was about $1.9 trillion—and pandemic‑era deficits that straddled administrations [2] [4]. Fact checks note the timing matters: some debt and deficits recorded early in Biden’s term were continuations of policies or emergency spending begun before he took office [5]. CRFB also warns the Treasury’s unusually large cash balance around the transition inflated perceived growth compared with cumulative deficits [3].
4. Political framing and competing narratives
Republican House Budget Committee releases frame higher interest costs and spending under Biden as evidence of fiscal failure, citing large increases in interest payments and labeling certain executive actions “costly” [6] [7]. Independent analysts like CRFB offer a more granular view and present alternative tallies (approved ten‑year borrowing vs. gross debt changes) that show smaller figures for “authorized” debt increases than some headline totals imply [4] [3]. Media outlets such as Fox Business emphasize higher long‑term spending and rising interest costs tied to higher debt levels [8].
5. Why percentages and context matter
Stating a flat dollar increase omits the economic context—debt as a share of GDP, deficit trajectories, and interest costs are essential to fiscal assessment. PolitiFact and others note that the debt‑to‑GDP ratio was already near or above 100% before Biden took office and that policy moves and the economic cycle influence that ratio [5]. CRFB and media trackers cite varying time frames and measures, producing differing percentage increases and policy attributions [3] [8].
6. What reporting does not settle (and what sources don’t say)
Available sources do not mention a single universally agreed‑upon “Biden‑added” figure because outlets use different measures (gross debt vs. debt held by the public vs. approved ten‑year borrowing) and different cutoff dates; they also differ on how to allocate pandemic‑era spending across administrations [1] [3] [4]. Sources provided do not offer a definitive reconciliation that assigns every dollar of increased debt to one policy or one president alone [3] [4].
7. Bottom line for readers
If you cite gross federal debt on calendar dates, the increase from about $27.6–$27.75 trillion in January 2021 to roughly $36.2 trillion by mid‑January 2025 is the common headline ($~8.4 trillion) [1] [2]. If you want policy attribution, rely on nuanced analysts: CRFB’s accounting finds Biden approved roughly $4.7 trillion of new ten‑year borrowing and highlights measurement choices [4] [3]. Disagreements among partisan committees, fiscal watchdogs, and mainstream outlets reflect different agendas and methodologies; pick the metric you need and cite it precisely [6] [4].