Federal Budget Deficit Reaches $1.8 Trillion
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) announced on Wednesday that the federal budget deficit for the fiscal year ending on September 30 hit $1.8 trillion. This figure is just $8 billion shy of the deficit recorded in fiscal year 2024. The CBO noted that revenues saw a rise of about $308 billion, or 6%, during fiscal year 2025.
President Trump’s aggressive tariff policies resulted in total tariffs climbing to $195 billion in fiscal year 2025, a significant jump from the $77 billion reported for the previous year.
Maya McGinius, chair of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, remarked, “We learned today that amidst a pointless government shutdown, the federal government borrowed $1.8 trillion in the fiscal year that concluded last week. Even though the deficit hasn’t grown from last year, it hasn’t shrunk either, and we are still burdened with high debt. Our national debt matches the size of the entire U.S. economy, and soon it will, as a percentage of the economy, exceed the record set right after World War II.”
She added, “We are on track to borrow nearly $2 trillion annually over the next decade. How is this sustainable?”
Back in January, the CBO had projected that the federal budget deficit would reach $1.9 trillion this year, with the national debt expected to rise to 118% of gross domestic product by 2035. As of Wednesday, the U.S. national debt stood at approximately $37.86 trillion, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
