US national debt and federal spending debate 2026

The White House proposed canceling the funding near the end of the federal fiscal year on Sept. 30.

The Supreme Court declined to block the 2025 pocket rescission, citing the president's authority over foreign affairs.

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

The White House announced plans to claw back $810 million in congressionally appropriated funding.

Neither the White House nor Collins' office immediately responded to a CNBC request for comment.

The White House cited the Impoundment Control Act as the basis for the Trump administration's authority.

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.

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

Diesel fuel prices have risen sharply as a result of the Iran war.

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

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

Rep. Eric Burlison described DOGE as the most exciting thing he has ever seen in politics, but was skeptical of it.

Rep. Eric Burlison accused Washington lawmakers on both sides of the aisle of being "drunk on spending".

Rep. Eric Burlison said that if health insurance premiums had followed normal inflation, it would only cost $11,000 per year today.

Ed Yardeni coined the term 'bond vigilantes.'

Jared Bernstein wrote a New York Times op-ed on Monday in which he said the U.S. is getting closer to a fiscal crisis at a rate he finds alarming.

The CBO's most recent long-term outlook was issued in February and projected the benchmark yield at 4.1% for 2026 and 4.2% for 2027.

As of the end of August, the cumulative deficit for fiscal year 2026 was $2 trillion.

Jack Lew said solutions to Social Security's shortfall get harder as the exhaustion date approaches.

If the retirement and disability trust funds are combined, Social Security would be able to pay full benefits until the third quarter of 2034, when 83% of scheduled benefits would be payable.

More than 64 million tax returns claimed at least one of Trump's signature new tax cuts, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

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

The bigger SALT deduction is most beneficial to upper-middle-income to upper-income earners because it starts to phase out at $500,000, according to Garrett Watson of the Tax Foundation.

14% of all data centers are located in Opportunity Zones, according to a report from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

8,746 Opportunity Zones have been established in the U.S. since the tax packages were passed, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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

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

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

The report was released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

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

Rep. Deborah Ross accused tech companies of buying land without disclosing their plans in a plot to sidestep local input.

The industry's massive infrastructure investments can qualify for substantial tax benefits, prompting Democrats to push to exclude data centers as concerns grow over electricity demand, water use and local development.

The deferred resignation effort began with an email to federal workers titled 'Fork in the Road.'

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

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

Bessent's prepared testimony notes that wages for the bottom 25% of earners have risen faster than the top group of earners.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will appear before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday for his annual testimony.

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

For 2026, estates above the federal exemption can face a top estate-tax rate of 40%.

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%.

Senator Mitch McConnell has not been on Capitol Hill since a June 14 fall put him in the hospital.

Senate Republicans are increasingly unlikely to take up a massive budget bill before the midterms.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is slated to appear before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday.

Donald Trump is the Republican President.

Fitch downgraded the U.S. from AAA to AA+ after the last debt ceiling standoff.

Rep. Eric Burlison said that if Republicans lose the midterms, raising the debt ceiling would probably need to happen in the lame duck.

Permanently setting the taxable maximum at 90% of earnings would address 28% of the 75-year solvency gap if benefits are not increased, or 22% if monthly checks go up, according to the Roosevelt Institute.

About 6% of workers earn above the Social Security payroll tax cap each year, according to Tyler Bond of the National Academy of Social Insurance.

Republican Reps. Tom Cole of Oklahoma and Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania said they would consider raising payroll taxes to help fund Social Security.

The Social Security Administration typically announces the following year's COLA in October.

The Senior Citizens League estimates that a 3.5% COLA would increase average monthly benefit checks by $67.90.

The Social Security COLA is determined by the percentage increase in third-quarter inflation data from the prior year to the current year.

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.

Vice President JD Vance suggested the promised payments could come from U.S. tariff revenues.

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

Penn Wharton's Budget Model estimates the tariffs brought in roughly $300 billion.

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

Trump proposed giving Americans a $5,000 dividend.

Vice President JD Vance said the U.S. would fund the $5,000 dividend using tariff revenue and that it would be aimed at the middle class.

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

COVID stimulus checks caused inflation to rise by 2.6% during the pandemic, according to 2023 research from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

U.S. interest payments on the national debt are larger than U.S. military spending.

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

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

Under Trump, the U.S. is running annual deficits of approximately $2 trillion.

During Trump's time as president, the federal debt has climbed by $11.6 trillion.

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

Debt held by the public exceeds $32 trillion.

Net interest costs have surpassed $1 trillion annually.

The total public debt amounts to nearly $300,000 per household.

US debt recently surpassed $40 trillion.

The US federal deficit is running at roughly 6% of GDP.

Kenneth Rogoff is a professor of economics and public policy at Harvard University.

According to the Institute of International Finance, total global debt is over $350 trillion, equivalent to about 305% of global GDP.

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

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

Krugman asserts that U.S. debt would be much lower as a percentage of GDP without revenue loss from tax cuts enacted by Republican presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump.

Donald Trump enacted tax cuts during both of his terms.

Scott Bessent is the Treasury secretary.

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.

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

The national debt stood at about $36.2 trillion when Donald Trump took office in January 2025.

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.

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.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced plans to at least double liquidity-support buybacks of 10- to 30-year government debt.

United States government debt exceeded $40 trillion for the first time.

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

Social Security and Medicare have roughly $86 trillion in unfunded obligations.

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

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

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

Bessent said he, President Trump, and OMB Director Russell Vought are working on fiscal consolidation measures that could save several hundreds of billions of dollars.

The US Treasury reported a $432 billion deficit for July, the fourth-highest monthly deficit in US history.

The 2025 fiscal-year budget marked the first time debt service costs exceeded Pentagon funding.

Since Trump took office a second time in January 2025, the US debt load has increased by $3.8 trillion.

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.