Mary Margaret Olohan on August 21, 2019
The federal budget deficit will reach $1 trillion by next year, according to forecasts from the Congressional Budget Office.
The Congressional Budget Office revealed the deficit will hit $960 billion for the 2019 fiscal year and $1 trillion for the 2020 fiscal year, according to the New York Times.
The Congressional Budget Office had predicted an $896 billion deficit for 2019 and $892 billion deficit for 2020, the publication reports.
Trump warned during his 2016 presidential campaign that the national debt was dangerous, but the total national debt has continued to grow under his administration.
The national debt stood at $19.5 trillion when the president took office, after expanding by just under $9 trillion under the Obama administration.
News of the deficit numbers comes as Trump announced Tuesday that he is considering “various tax reductions,” including a payroll tax cut, to give the U.S. economy a boost.
The president described the economy as “incredible” and downplayed worries that the U.S. might be entering a recession. His comment came a day after the White House said “cutting payroll taxes is not something under consideration at this time.”
Trump’s words follow news that the United States Steel Corporation plans to lay off fewer than 200 workers at a Michigan facility, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed Aug. 5. This follows the company’s decision to stop production at the facility in June, according to Reuters.
