US national debt and federal spending debate 2026

President Donald Trump's administration blocked $4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid through a pocket rescission a year ago.

Sen. Susan Collins said the move is the most recent attempt by the Office of Management and Budget to undermine Congress's Constitutional power of the purse.

Sen. Susan Collins said the Government Accountability Office has concluded that pocket rescissions are unlawful and not permitted by the Impoundment Control Act.

President Trump used a 'pocket rescission' budget maneuver to claw back the funds.

Sen. Susan Collins condemned Trump's cuts and called them an attempt to undermine Congress's Constitutional power of the purse.

Collins argued that if the money remains unspent until Sept. 30, it expires before Congress's 45-day review period can be completed.

Trump's 'big beautiful bill' was enacted in July 2025 and included changes to the charitable deduction for taxpayers across the income spectrum.

Starting in 2026, there is a charitable tax break for non-itemizing filers worth up to $1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for married couples.

For 2026, taxpayers who itemize their deductions only receive the charitable tax break once it exceeds 0.5% of their adjusted gross income.

Rep. Eric Burlison said he had to fight members of his own party to get spending reductions in the Big, Beautiful Bill.

Rep. Eric Burlison stated that the average American family is paying $27,000 a year for insurance premiums for a family of four today.

The national debt has exploded past $40 trillion.

Trump told reporters he spoke with Warsh before the FOMC meeting and said it would not matter how Warsh voted.

Bessent suggested to the committee that yields would have gone even higher without the buyback.

Bessent told the House Financial Services Committee on Sept. 15 that the latest Treasury buyback was successful.

Jared Bernstein served as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers during the Biden administration.

Maya MacGuineas said a fiscal crisis is now a distinct possibility.

The 10-year Treasury yield at its level that week was the highest since 2007.

In 2026, wages up to $184,500 are subject to Social Security payroll taxes.

Jack Lew said lawmakers should keep their options open on Social Security reform.

The Social Security retirement trust fund may run out in the fourth quarter of 2032, at which point 78% of benefits would be payable.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told lawmakers the legislation delivered tax relief 'directly to millions of low- and middle-income Americans.'

Trump's legislation, also known as the 'Working Families Tax Cuts,' made permanent his 2017 tax changes while adding new tax breaks.

Nearly half of Americans say they can't explain Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, according to a Politico poll that surveyed about 2,100 U.S. adults in July.

Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet said Washington is giving handouts to big tech companies while American families are drowning.

Rep. Chris Pappas argued that data-center development is contributing to higher costs for his constituents as the facilities place growing demands on electricity and water supplies.

The bill is backed by 21 additional House Democrats, including Ways and Means Committee member Rep. Jimmy Panetta.

Hawley said that no real legislative action on AI had happened because tech CEOs gave Schumer and Democrats large amounts of money.

Sen. Josh Hawley plans to introduce legislation that would exclude data centers from accessing Opportunity Zone tax breaks.

Opportunity Zone tax breaks were first approved by Congress as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

The deferred resignation initiative led to a 435% increase in paid administrative leave costs in 2025.

The national debt and federal spending have both gone up during Trump's second term.

The Government Accountability Office published a report estimating the federal government paid federal workers $9.5 billion not to work in 2025.

Elon Musk spearheaded the department of government efficiency (Doge).

Douglas Pasternak is research director of Public Citizen's Trump Accountability Project.

Since January 2023, the Trump administration has reduced the federal US workforce by approximately 355,000 employees.

Massachusetts has a millionaire surtax.

The top 1% of taxpayers pay roughly 40% of federal individual income taxes.

The last time the top federal tax rate was above 39.6% was 40 years ago, when it was 50%.

Diesel costs $6.23, up $2.54 over the past year.

Oil prices have risen above $100 a barrel.

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh is facing pressure from President Trump not to raise interest rates.

The Senate is expected to take up a Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) bill as soon as this week.

This is the first time since July 23 that both chambers will be in Washington.

Dan Driscoll resigned as Army secretary.

Trump proposed a $5,000 dividend for every American if Republicans win the midterms.

Analysts project the U.S. will breach the $41.1 trillion debt ceiling at some point in 2027.

Rep. Chip Roy said he would not support raising the debt ceiling before the end of the year without massive spending restraint and reforms.

Eliminating the Social Security payroll tax cap for earnings above $400,000 was the most strongly preferred choice among 2,243 Americans age 21 and older surveyed in 2024, according to a survey by the National Academy of Social Insurance, AARP, the National Institute on Retirement Security and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, with Greenwald Research.

The nation's debt recently surpassed $40 trillion.

Expanding the payroll tax cap to cover 90% of wages by setting the cap at $346,000 starting in 2027 and then indexing it to wage growth would eliminate nearly 900,000 jobs and reduce GDP by 0.7%, according to the Tax Foundation's research.

The Social Security COLA has averaged about 3.1% over the past 10 years, according to the Social Security Administration.

AARP forecasts a 3.6% Social Security COLA for 2027, which would increase the average retired worker's benefit by $75 per month.

The broader consumer price index was up 3.4% over the past 12 months as of August.

Trump likened the $5,000 dividend to a one-time, tax-free $1,776 'Warrior Dividend' approved for about 1.45 million U.S. military service members the prior year.

Trump pledged that if Republicans held control of the House and Senate in November's midterm elections, his administration would issue a dividend to all American adults.

The Supreme Court ordered hundreds of billions in tariff revenues to be refunded.

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie said he fears the payments would cause more inflation and accused Trump of trying to buy votes.

The $2,000 rebate check Trump proposed in November 2025 has not been issued yet.

Trump said the proposed $5,000 payments would be funded through economic growth.

CPI data for August was expected to show inflation at an annual pace of 3.3%, above the Federal Reserve's target of 2%.

Trump proposed possibly eliminating credit card swipe fees, which he said could save the typical family about $1,200 a year.

The U.S. government now spends more on servicing its debt than on national defense or Medicare.

The U.S. federal government takes in more than $5 trillion each year.

The U.S. government overspends by $2 trillion per year.

The U.S. national debt passed the $20 trillion mark in 2017.

The federal debt in 2016 was less than half of $40 trillion.

During Joe Biden's four years as president, the federal debt rose by $8.4 trillion.

The U.S. is currently paying approximately $1 trillion per year in interest on the federal debt.

An additional $1 trillion in debt reduces long-run U.S. capital stock of productive assets by 0.7-0.8%.

The Congressional Budget Office projects debt held by the public will reach 120% of GDP by 2036.

The U.S. recorded a $1.8 trillion deficit in 2025.

US debt recently surpassed $40 trillion.

Scott Bessent said AI-led growth will bring the US deficit down to 3% of GDP.

Scott Bessent is the US Treasury secretary.

30-year treasury yields reached a ceiling of 5.34% last week, the highest seen in 19 years.

Global debt was 240% of GDP in 2005.

The Treasury's buyback plan involves soaking up longer-term bonds with high yield rates by issuing shorter-term bonds to pay for it.

Federal debt is now bigger than the U.S. economy.

Federal debt exceeded $40 trillion.

Krugman asserts that properly measured, the debt is $32 trillion.

A single major Cyclospora outbreak has sickened nearly 11,000 people and caused two deaths.

The United States has recorded more than 160 food recalls this year.

Scottish judge and historian Alexander Tytler lived from 1747 to 1813.

United States debt relative to the economy stands at approximately 125% of GDP, compared to a post-World War II peak of 114%.

The late former Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma authored the book "The Debt Bomb."

The United States government last recorded a federal budget surplus in 2001.

Divided evenly across the current U.S. population, the national debt equates to roughly $116,800 per American.

During Joe Biden's presidency, the national debt increased by $8.45 trillion.

The US national debt has officially surpassed $40 trillion for the first time in history.

In the World Gold Council survey, 45% of respondents expected their own institutions' gold holdings to increase, while 1% anticipated a decline.

The World Gold Council's June survey reported that 89% of central bank respondents anticipate global central bank gold reserves will rise over the next year.

Earlier in the year, gold had reached record highs close to $5,600.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there is a "very good chance" that the U.S. budget deficit under President Donald Trump has likely peaked.

Bessent said the U.S. can grow its way out of the $40 trillion debt.

The monthly U.S. budget deficit topped $432 billion in July.

The US debt stood at $19.95 trillion in January 2017 when Donald Trump was sworn in for the first time.

$1.1 trillion pays the interest on US borrowing annually.

The US spends roughly $7 trillion annually and 60 percent of that budget is earmarked for mandatory programmes.

Three U.S. officials, a former defense official, outside experts and two congressional staff members said the Defense Department is running out of cash.

The Defense Department was funded with a budget of nearly a trillion dollars.