Treasury Department: U.S. budget deficit is up 27 percent, exceeds 2018 total

(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

last updated 13 August 2019

The Treasury Department reported Monday that the U.S. budget deficit grew to $867 billion for the first 10 months of the fiscal year, an increase of 27 percent compared to this time in 2018.

The deficit for fiscal year 2018 was $779 billion. The fiscal year ends on Sept. 30, and the White House's Office of Management and Budget predicts by that point, the deficit will reach $1 trillion for the year.

Experts say the 2017 Republican tax plan, which included $1.5 trillion in tax cuts over 10 years, is one reason why the deficit is growing so much. While tax revenue increased by 3 percent since Oct. 1, federal spending is up 8 percent in the same period. That is only going to continue to increase, as a two-year budget deal signed into law by President Trump this month will raise spending by $320 billion.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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