The United States borrowed $255 billion in the first month of fiscal year 2025, according to the latest Monthly Budget Review from the Congressional Budget Office.
The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:
While final votes continue to be counted in races across the country, today’s deficit projections make one thing abundantly clear: there’s a fiscal storm on the horizon, and President-Elect Trump and the Members of the 119th Congress will soon need to confront it. With a deficit of $255 billion in just the first month of the fiscal year and borrowing $8 billion per day, this should be a reminder that our borrowing isn’t letting up on its own.
Elections bring with them new priorities, shifting policies, and a new fiscal landscape in Washington. But what remains consistent is the massive underlying burden of our national debt. In the next two years, debt will exceed its all-time record share of the economy; in less than ten years, Social Security beneficiaries face automatic benefit cuts if policymakers continue to do nothing to fix it.
There will be incredible temptations on the road ahead, with powerful interests pushing policies designed to fulfill agendas rather than address our fiscal health. But these are ultimately generational challenges affecting you and I as well as our children and grandchildren.
Tackling the upcoming negotiations over raising the debt ceiling and extending expiring tax provisions isn’t an obstacle; it’s an opportunity to finally get this nation moving in the direction of a responsible federal budget.
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
As I have said, over and over, we do not have a revenue problem, but we do have a spending problem. In 2000, we had federal revenues of about $2 Trillion and federal spending of about $2 Trillion. Since then, federal revenues have increased to about $5 Trillion a year and federal spending is now about $7 Trillion a year – hence the $2+ Trillion annual deficit.
And, it really took off under Obama, Trump 1 and Biden – when the national debt went from about $10 Trillion to now $35+ Trillion – that’s $25+ Trillion added in 16 years!
No, I don’t think spending will decline under Trump II. I believe deficits will continue to worsen and we will continue to add to our debt, until economics precludes further additions.
That is, Biden was worse than Trump who was worse than Obama who was worse than Bush II.
Remember when Obama asserted that Bush was “unpatriotic” for running an annual deficit of < $500 Billion in a fiscal year, and $4 Trillion to our national debt over 8 years? https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2013/03/13/flashback_obama_talks_unpatriotic_debt_in_2008.html
Trump II will be worse than Biden, who was worse than Trump 1 who was worse than Obama who was worse than Bush II.
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Looks like Trump tax cuts didn’t hurt a pretty strong economy so why change it? Maybe those tax cuts helped generate the growth.
Let’s try cutting spending. Let’s do a little prick and get rid of federal spending on NPR. Let it stand on it’s own like other broadcast folks like CNN, FOX, MSNBC. How about Planned Parenthood? Stand on your own–raise your own money.
How about reducing spending by 1% across the board? Revenue is not the issue but spending is.
Until folks on both sides come up with spending cuts we will slide deeper in debt.
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No, they didn’t pay for themselves, they added significantly to deficits
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The budgets submitted by Trump and Biden went from 4.4 trillion to 6.9 trillion between 2019 and 2024. Part of the increase was for COVID Stimulus payments and associated costs. That was in the past but the budgets never retreated. Yes, tax cuts increased the deficit initially but the sheer fact of once government spending hits a high note, it tends to stay there.
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It’s a wait and see for 2025. Trump wants the current income tax scheme extended and that will surely be done but who knows what else will be worked on. I’m curious as to what Elon Musk will advise Trump to do about budget and taxes.
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