US deficit tops $700 bln to hit record in October-December
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A Treasury official told reporters that outlays totaled 1.8 trillion during the three-month period.
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The Treasury Department is seen near sunset in Washington on January 18, 2023. (AP)
The US budget deficit reached a new high in the October-December quarter, according to Treasury Department figures released Tuesday, as expenditure increased but tax receipts decreased.
The growth in the gap increased the government's deficit to $711 billion in the first three months of its fiscal year.
According to the government, this is a 39% increase from $510 billion in the same time last year, and according to the Treasury, spending increased by 11% to a new high, but revenues decreased.
A Treasury official told reporters that outlays totaled 1.8 trillion during the three-month period.
Medicare and Medicaid spending increased, as did defense spending, owing to greater operating and maintenance costs.
Treasury expenditure increased by $33 billion as interest rates on the public debt rose.
Higher interest rates have driven up the cost of servicing the country's debt.
Among other things, Homeland Security expenditures increased, much of it in the aftermath of storms in late 2024.
The new budget statistics come as President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to take office on Monday, has pledged to cut federal spending.
In November, Trump named billionaire Scott Bessent as his Treasury secretary, choosing the hedge fund manager to help execute an agenda promising tax cuts and tariffs.
Bessent, CEO of Key Square Group, has advocated for extending the tax cuts from Trump’s first term, emphasized the need to reassert American energy dominance, and stressed the importance of addressing the budget deficit.
