Republicans in the House and Senate helped Trump add trillions in debt that will weigh down the economy for years without asking for spending cuts.
In January 2021, ProPublica reported:
The national debt has risen by almost $7.8 trillion during Trump’s time in office. That’s nearly twice as much as what Americans owe on student loans, car loans, credit cards and every other type of debt other than mortgages, combined, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. It amounts to about $23,500 in new federal debt for every person in the country.
The growth in the annual deficit under Trump ranks as the third-biggest increase, relative to the size of the economy, of any U.S. presidential administration.
It is easy to confuse debt and deficit, so keep in mind that the deficit is the monthly or yearly amount the government has to borrow. The debt is the cumulative amount the nation owes throughout its history.
To look back on it now, the headlines here at PoliticusUSA were staggering. Trump and Republicans increased the month-to-month deficit by 66% from May to June 2018. In August of 2018, Trump and House Republicans created a deficit that was twice as big as any month in the previous year.
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Kevin McCarthy and many of the same House Republicans now calling for spending cuts ran up these deficits and added to the debt without asking Trump for any spending cuts in return. The big driver was the $1.9 trillion Trump/Republican tax cuts for the rich. Most of the Trump debt ($4.8 trillion) was run up before COVID. Republicans added more than a trillion dollars a year to the debt through tax cuts and increased spending before the pandemic hit, and now they have the nerve to demand spending cuts from Biden.
Republicans are asking Biden and the American people to pay for the bills they ran up in considerable part by cutting taxes for the wealthy and corporations with cuts to programs like Medicare and Social Security.
President Biden has a justifiable position in saying no to House Republican demands for spending cuts. Under Trump, House Republicans raised the debt ceiling without offsetting cuts three times.
If House Republicans want to raise revenue to cover the increasing debt ceiling, they can start by raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations and cleaning up their deficit and debt mess.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
Jason Easley
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