The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the US government’s borrowing for the first nine months of 2026 has reached $1.4 trillion.
In a new report, the CBO says the figure is $35 billion higher than the deficit recorded during the same period last year.
The US government’s fiscal year runs from October 1st through September 30th of the following year.
Data from the CBO shows that from October 2025 to June 2026, the US government had already spent $5.5 trillion, representing a $178 billion jump from the same period last year.
Spending on entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid accounts for the bulk of the budget, totaling $2.551 trillion for the first nine months of the fiscal year. The figure marks a $169 billion increase compared to the same period last year. The US government also shelled out $857 billion to cover the net interest on its public debt, while allocating $677 billion to national defense.
Says Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget,
“We will likely borrow $2 trillion or more this fiscal year – an astounding figure given that the economy keeps growing and unemployment is low. This is likely the tip of the iceberg; borrowing will soar if policymakers fail to get our entitlements under control, enact further unpaid-for tax cuts or spending increases, and otherwise ignore the need to cut spending and increase revenues. Social Security and Medicare are within seven years of trust fund exhaustion, and action needs to be taken to prevent across-the-board cuts to both programs.”
Data from the Treasury Department shows that the US government’s debt stands at over $39.414 trillion.
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