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UNBELIEVABLE: Maya macguineas | History Defined

Trump pledged fiscal restraint. Instead, debt tops $40 trillion as borrowing costs rise

US debt: While voters may not focus on the issue until the country's fiscal problems translate into benefit cuts or tax hikes, the fallout hits them just the same in the form of high mortgage interest rates that track yields on government debt and inflation outpacing wage hikes.

The Economic Times

US debt crosses $40 trillion threshold after doubling under Trump and Biden

United States debt has now exceeded forty trillion dollars for the first time. This significant increase occurred during the presidencies of Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Growing costs for social programs and interest payments are outpacing revenues. Tax cuts have constrained government income, contributing to the rising debt. Budget watchdogs…

The Economic Times

Social Security is celebrating its 91st birthday. It won't live to 100, watchdog warns

"Social Security won’t make it past age 97 as things currently stand," said the CRFB's Maya Macguineas. "At least not in its current form."

Fortune

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Trump's $200 billion tariff hit swells budget deficit to $2.1 trillion for 2026, CBO confirms

A major tool for deficit reduction—Trump’s IEEPA tariff regime—is unconstitutional.

Fortune

U.S. Treasury has borrowed $155 billion every month of this fiscal year—and is now paying $24 billion a week in interest on its debts

Interest payments on the debt are now so large that the spending is higher than the outlays for the Departments of Defense, Commerce, Homeland Security, Education, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Small Business Administration, and the U.S. Coronavirus Refundable Credits scheme—combined.

Fortune

'Trust Doesn't Collapse Overnight': Experts Warn US Debt Is Now Accelerating America's Rivalry With China

The US is projected to borrow over $2 trillion in a fiscal year, raising concerns among economists about fiscal sustainability and geopolitical implications, with interest payments rivaling major federal expenditures.

International Business Times

Treasury expected to borrow $2 trillion this year to continue functioning—more than $166 billion every month

"Markets will only tolerate our unsustainable borrowing for so long; the risk of a fiscal crisis gets higher as the days pass. We need deficit reduction urgently."

Fortune

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For the first time since World War II, America owes more than it produces—and a leading fiscal watchdog is sounding the alarm

“We’ve heard plenty of alarm bells in the past few years about our fiscal path,” said Maya MacGuineas of the CRFB, “but this one rings especially loudly.”

Fortune

The U.S. government is spending $88 billion a month in interest on national debt, equal to its spending on both defense and education combined

Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, called on lawmakers to “ultimately fix the broken process that got us into this mess.”

Fortune

Trump just raised the $39 trillion national debt with the largest budget hike since World War II—and nobody can figure out how to pay for it

“MAGA was told an untruth by Trump—no foreign wars, no adventurism,” Steve Hanke told Fortune. “This is a massive militarization.”

Fortune

‘There is no silver lining in this trajectory’: Budget watchdog warns of financial, inflation, or currency crisis due to $39 trillion national debt

“It took decades to get us into this hole, and it will take a concerted effort to get out of it.”

Fortune

The Trump Administration’s proposed capital gains tax cut could add nearly $1 trillion to the national debt within the decade, think tank warns

“We need more revenue, not less,” Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget president Maya MacGuineas said.

Fortune

$39 trillion national debt is 'an embarrassing milestone,' think tank says. 'Clearly headed in the wrong direction'

"Markets are paying close attention to our fiscal situation, and every time we hit a new milestone, we risk spooking them," said Maya MacGuineas.

Fortune

'The conflict in Iran demonstrates why we need to keep our national debt at a reasonable level': think tank sees economic emergency around the corner

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget warns that war spending could tip into a fiscal crisis — and it's calling for a pre-built escape plan.

Fortune

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Fortune

The U.S. borrowed $50 billion a week for the past five months, finds the CBO: 'Our fiscal problems will not solve themselves'

"We need policymakers to come together, agree to reduce deficits ... and put our national debt on a downward sustainable path as a share of the economy."

Roll Call

Democrats float tax relief plans to home in on affordability

Democrats with potential presidential aspirations have unveiled a slew of tax breaks in recent days that emphasize the party’s focus on affordability in hopes of taking back the White House. The latest pitch, unveiled Monday from New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, would more than double the standard deduction for…

Fortune

Trump's loss of $1.7 trillion in tariff revenue will send the national debt to $58 trillion by 2036, think tank projects

The Supreme Court's invalidation of the president's sweeping import levies has blown a bigger hole in federal finances.

Fortune

Come 2030, the U.S. deficit will be worth 5.9% of GDP—more than the outlays for Social Security, and equal to spending on major health programs

Come 2030, the annual deficit will be worth roughly 5.9% of GDP, on par with provisions set aside for health and Social Security programs, and well ahead of calls to reduce deficits to 3% of GDP.

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Fortune

‘The state of our union is more indebted than ever’: Budget watchdog continues war of words with Trump White House

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget took heat over the weekend, with Scott Bessent saying its leader “should be ashamed.”

Fortune

‘Maya MacGuineas should be ashamed’: Scott Bessent launches war of words with the nonpartisan think tank that agrees with Trump on tariffs

For her part, MacGuineas said Bessent’s diatribe was “a bit of an odd response.”

Fortune

‘Nothing short of self-sabotage’: Watchdog warns about national debt setting new record in just 4 years

“Our nation’s deficits, debt, interest payments, and trust funds are all in terrible shape,” says Maya MacGuineas, president of the CRFB.

Fortune

America borrowed $43.5 billion a week in the first four months of the fiscal year, with debt interest on track to be over $1 trillion for 2026

“The longer lawmakers wait, the higher the price for Americans,” warned Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Fortune

President Trump just missed a key deadline to share his spending plans: Fears are mounting about what that means for $38.5 trillion national debt

“We won’t be able to fix the debt without touching Social Security, Medicare, defense, or revenue—the math just doesn’t work. And we can’t count on heroic growth rates or crashing interest rates,” said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB).

Fortune

As Trump throws a bone to Gen Z on student debt, watchdog calls it an 'incoherent political giveaway,' straight out of Biden's playbook

Student-debt collections are being halted again, as they have for over half a decade now.

Fortune

Jamie Dimon warns $38 trillion national debt is going to 'bite': 'You can't just keep borrowing money endlessly'

Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, echoed: "Despite being more than a quarter into [2026] our government is still not fully funded for the rest of the fiscal year, with another funding deadline around the corner in just over two weeks."

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