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Budget math undercuts Bessent's deficit reduction pledge
Senators pressed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as the budget projected nearly $2 trillion in deficits and more than $1 trillion in interest costs.
- On Wednesday, Republican senators questioned President Donald Trump's budget, which projects deficits above 5% of GDP through 2029 while requesting a 42% increase in defense spending. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., asked how the administration could reconcile the spending increase with deficit reduction goals.
- The Congressional Budget Office projects the federal deficit will reach nearly $2 trillion in fiscal year 2026, up from $1.7 trillion the previous year. Public debt reached 100% of GDP in March, with the Government Accountability Office warning the nation's fiscal path is "unsustainable."
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the administration's fiscal strategy, telling the committee, "We do not have a collections problem. We have a spending problem and we have a growth problem." Bessent also backed House Resolution 981 targeting 3% deficit reduction by 2030.
- Social Security trust funds face insolvency by 2033. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., pressed Bessent on the program, who argued the administration must get its "short-term house in order first" before addressing it, citing a three-year window until insolvency.
- Interest payments on public debt will exceed $1 trillion in fiscal year 2026, surpassing discretionary defense spending. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., questioned the impact of IRS staffing cuts on the tax gap, estimated at $696 billion for 2022.
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ussanews.comBudget math undercuts Bessent’s deficit reduction pledge
President Donald Trump's next budget projects federal deficits running more than double Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's stated target through at least 2029 while also calling for a 42% increase in defense spending, a disconnect that drew questions Wednesday from Republican senators during a Senate Finance Committee hearing.
Budget math undercuts Bessent's deficit reduction pledge
(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump's next budget projects federal deficits running more than double Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's stated target through at least 2029 while also calling for a 42% increase in defense spending, a disconnect that drew…
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Leaning Left3Leaning Right11Center12Last UpdatedBias Distribution46% Center
Bias Distribution
- 46% of the sources are Center
46% Center
12%
C 46%
R 42%
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