The U.S. finances deficit continued to widen, hitting a document $1.147 trillion for the primary 5 months of fiscal 12 months 2025, the Treasury Department mentioned on Wednesday, together with a $307 billion February deficit for President Donald Trump’s first full month in workplace that was up 4% from a 12 months earlier.
The October-February deficit, which included almost 4 months till Jan. 20 beneath former president Joe Biden, topped the earlier document $1.047 trillion from October 2020 to February 2021 – a interval marked by excessive COVID-19 reduction spending and pandemic-constrained revenues.
The Treasury mentioned February’s deficit rose $11 billion from the identical month in 2024, as outlays for debt curiosity, Social Security and well being care advantages swamped income development.
The outcomes confirmed little impression from Trump’s preliminary import tariffs on main buying and selling companions and his administration’s efforts to slash authorities spending to date.
February receipts totaled $296 billion, a document for that month. That determine was up 9%, or $25 billion, in contrast with the year-earlier interval. But outlays in February totaled $603 billion, additionally a document for that month, and up 6%, or $36 billion, from a 12 months earlier.
After calendar changes for each receipts and outlays, the adjusted deficit would have been $311 billion, matching the document February reported finances deficit in 2021, which was pushed by COVID-19.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a fiscal watchdog group, mentioned authorities borrowings to date this fiscal 12 months work out to about $8 billion a day.
“What needs no confirmation is that we are almost halfway through the fiscal year, and yet we have done nothing to make progress toward getting our skyrocketing debt under control,” the group’s president, Maya MacGuineas, mentioned in an announcement.
Fiscal year-to-date receipts rose 2%, or $37 billion, to a document $1.893 trillion, however outlays grew 13%, or $355 billion, to a document $3.039 trillion.
Including calendar shifts of profit funds, the adjusted year-to-date deficit would have been $1.063 trillion – nonetheless a document – up 17%, or $157 billion, from the prior-year interval.
Effects of tariffs, DOGE
Trump imposed a further 10% tariff on Chinese imports on Feb. 4, however that improve didn’t materially impression customs receipts final month and can possible begin displaying up in March information, a Treasury official mentioned. Trump elevated the additional obligation on Chinese items to twenty% on March 4.
Net customs receipts totaled $7.25 billion in February, down from $7.34 billion in January however up from $6.21 billion in February 2024.
The finances outcomes for February didn’t present an considerable change in general outlays because of Trump’s drive to slash the federal workforce and authorities spending via the casual Department of Government Efficiency, generally known as DOGE, led by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk.
The Department of Education, a serious goal of DOGE for cuts, noticed its outlays fall to $8 billion final month from $14 billion within the year-earlier interval. The Treasury official attributed the decline to reductions in outlays for elementary and secondary education schemes.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which the Trump administration is making an attempt to dismantle, nonetheless confirmed an outlay of $226 million for February, in comparison with $542 million within the year-earlier interval.
Driving the spending development in February and year-to-date intervals had been larger spending on Treasury’s curiosity on the general public debt, outlays for Child Tax Credit funds and elevated Social Security funds due partly to a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment for 2025.
For the year-to-date interval, the Treasury’s curiosity prices for the general public debt got here to $478 billion, up about 10%, or $45 billion, from a 12 months earlier and outstripping army outlays of about $380 billion. Social Security outlays grew 8% to about $663 billion.
Source: www.dailysabah.com