In this year’s State of the Union address, Donald Trump promised to balance the federal budget “in the near future”.
We are not nearing that balanced future—the current Trump budget is racking up debt faster than last year’s:
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on Thursday released its monthly budget review for the month of June, which showed the FY2026 deficit was $1.373 trillion through the first nine months of the fiscal year.
That represents a $35 billion increase in the budget deficit compared with the same period a year ago. The larger deficit was the result of a larger increase in federal spending, which is up $178 billion from a year ago while tax receipts have risen $142 billion.
…Maya MacGuineas, president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), noted in a statement that this year’s deficit has now surpassed the prior year’s deficit and it’s “likely to stay that way for the rest of the fiscal year.”
“We will likely borrow $2 trillion or more this fiscal year – an astounding figure given that the economy keeps growing and unemployment is low,” she explained. “This is likely the tip of the iceberg; borrowing will soar if policymakers fail to get our entitlements under control, enact further unpaid-for tax cuts or spending increases, and otherwise ignore the need to cut spending and increase revenues” [Eric Revell, “National Debt Interest and Entitlement Spending Push FY2026 Federal Budget Deficit Toward $2 Trillion,” Fox Business, 2026.07.10].
The national debt is getting worse under Trump, not better, but hey, Donald, by all means, keep focusing on a triumphal arch and lying about election fraud.