The budget deficit is projected to swell to $1 trillion in 2020. That's 2 years faster than previously thought.

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The federal budget deficit is not slowing down.

Following the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, the Congressional Budget Office updated its forecasts on Wednesday, with predictions that the deficit will reach $960 billion for the 2019 fiscal year, which concludes on Sept. 30. That number is expected to swell to $1 trillion for the 2020 fiscal year, the first time the deficit could cross that threshold since the 2012 fiscal year.

Bloomberg also points out that, while hitting the $1 trillion mark was anticipated, the 2020 prediction for the figure is two years earlier than previously thought. And if it weren't for decreased interest rate projections, the CBO's deficit estimates would likely be even higher.

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The New York Times reports that the rising forecasts are a result of "sluggish growth in federal revenue" after the Trump administration's 2017 tax cuts went into effect and bipartisan agreements to raise military and nondefense domestic discretionary spending.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.