Budget

$733 Billion? $700? $750? Trump Sows Confusion on Defense Spending

By Michael Rainey

President Trump has offered significantly different opinions on future defense spending in the last few weeks, indicating in October that next year’s budget would be cut amid rising deficits and then...
Deficit Climbs to $303 Billion Over First Two Months of Fiscal 2019

By The Fiscal Times Staff

The U.S. budget deficit jumped to $303 billion in October and November, the first two months of the 2019 fiscal year, according to data released by the Congressional Budget Office Monday. Here are...
Inside the Remarkable — and Costly — Decline of the IRS

By Michael Rainey

Weighed down by budget cuts and staff reductions, the number of audits performed by the Internal Revenue Service has been dropping for years. A new report from ProPublica and The Atlantic takes a...
Trump Says He’d Be ‘Proud’ to Shut Down the Government Over Border Security

By Yuval Rosenberg

With funding for parts of the federal government set to expire on December 21, nobody expected Tuesday’s Oval Office meeting between President Trump and Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck...
Why a Shutdown Really Could Happen Right Before Christmas

By Yuval Rosenberg

Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are scheduled to meet with President Trump on Tuesday to resume negotiations over funding for a border wall with Mexico. The talks will set the stage...

Trump Suddenly Wants Billions More for Defense: Report

By Michael Rainey

President Trump will request $750 billion for the next Pentagon budget, reversing course on possible defense cuts he discussed just a few weeks ago, Politico’s Wesley Morgan reported Sunday. Top...
How Congress Got So Broken

By Yuval Rosenberg

More than 50 House members chose not to seek re-election in 2018, and a new report from nonprofit groups Issue One and the R Street Institute examines what drove so many to that decision. The report...
Larry Kudlow Still Insists Tax Cuts Will Pay for Themselves, Deficits Will Fall 'a Lot'

By Yuval Rosenberg

Isn’t it time to admit that the tax cuts are not going to pay for themselves? Larry Kudlow, the director of President Trump’s National Economic Council, was asked that question Friday morning on CNBC...
How Much Would a Federal Jobs Guarantee Cost?

By Michael Rainey

One of the more provocative ideas being kicked around on the progressive left these days is a federal jobs guarantee. Proponents say that too many American workers have been left behind in an...
Shutdown Watch: Congress Passes Stopgap Deal, Postponing Wall Fight

By Yuval Rosenberg

The House and Senate on Thursday passed a two-week extension of government funding via voice votes, pushing the deadline in the ongoing fight over money for President Trump’s border wall until...

Fiscal Mayhem Ahead in 2019 — and 5 Other Takes on the Election Results

By The Fiscal Times Staff

Prepare for budget mayhem: “The budget bottom line is simple: Senate Republicans will have a very different fiscal agenda than House Democrats, and both houses’ tax and spending to-do lists will be...
What Should Democrats Do Now That They’ve Won the House?

By Michael Rainey

With Democrats winning control of the House Tuesday, political experts are lining up to give advice on what they should do with their new powers. While there’s little chance of enacting significant...
3 Areas Where Trump and Democrats Can Maybe, Possibly Work Together

By Yuval Rosenberg

Will divided government lead to anything beyond more legislative gridlock? President Trump and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, the presumptive next speaker of the House, have both spoken...
5 Tax and Spending Takeaways from the Midterm Elections

By Michael Rainey

Tuesday’s election results changed the outlook for some key tax and spending proposals. Here are 5 takeaways from the midterm vote: 1. The GOP’s “tax cuts 2.0” effort is dead. The Republican plan to...
Why the Midterms Could Kill Trump's Space Force

By Michael Rainey

The fate of President Trump’s new military branch could depend on the outcomes of the midterm elections, says Joe Gould of Defense News. The Pentagon is working on a plan to create the Space Force,...