At the end of 2022, the nation’s gross debt had reached nearly $31.4 trillion. The central bank doubled its borrowing over the past couple of years as part of its effort to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic with its holdings rising from $4.3 trillion in mid-March 2020 (around the time that many businesses shut down) to $9.0 trillion in early June 2022.
