A new analysis finds that the Trump administration’s fiscal policies pushed the national deficit by twice as much as President Biden’s policies.
According to an analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), a Washington think tank, the Trump administration borrowed $8.4 trillion during the former president’s term in office, while the Biden administration has borrowed $4.3 trillion.
If we ignore the pandemic relief measures enacted by both presidents, the ratio of debt increases still remains roughly 2-to-1, with former President Trump adding $4.8 trillion in non-pandemic relief fiscal debt and Biden adding $2.2 trillion.
These additions are primarily due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), amendments to the Affordable Care Act, and various budget laws in 2018 and 2019.
Most of Biden’s non-pandemic-related additions came from bipartisan infrastructure legislation, student loan relief, spending bills and other executive actions.
Both parties have increased the debt in different ways, with Republicans primarily through bipartisan legislation and Democrats through executive action, which the CRFB said is a preview of efforts to come.
Of the Trump Administration’s increase to the national debt, 77% was due to bipartisan bills, and 23% was due to bills with little or no bipartisan support.
For the Biden administration, 29% of the additional debt will come from bipartisan legislation and 71% will come from unilateral decisions.
Both Trump and Biden had their own parties in control of both houses of Congress for their first two years in office, but the House of Representatives flipped in midterm elections during their respective terms.
Budget pressures have intensified under the Biden administration as fiscal measures passed in response to the pandemic have ballooned the deficit.
The U.S. debt rose by more than $3 trillion between the first and second quarters of 2020, a sharp increase from the previous year before the pandemic, bringing total debt to about $34.5 trillion.
The U.S. debt-to-gross domestic product ratio has settled at a new level of about 120%, compared to 100% pre-2020.
Both parties are now considering ways to raise revenue ahead of the expiration of the TCJA’s individual tax cuts at the end of 2025.
The political parties are now drawing clear lines about the scope and style of tax reform, with leading Democrats and Republicans on the Finance and Tax-writing committees providing guidance on the direction the U.S. revenue structure should head.
