The US Treasury Department is seen from the Washington memorial on a cold winter day in Washington, DC on January 21, 2025.
Kevin Carter | Getty Images
The budget shortage in February exacerbated the issue of US debt and deficits as the budget shortage in February exceeded $1 trillion, despite the fiscal year not yet at the halfway point.
Government spending was slightly relaxed each month, but still far surpassed revenue, according to a Treasury statement on Wednesday. The deficit was just over the month’s total of $30.07 billion, 2.5 times its in January and 3.7% higher than February 2024.
Receipts and expenditures set records for the month, a Treasury spokesman said.
The year’s deficit totaled $1.15 trillion for the first five months of fiscal year 2025. The total was about $318 billion more or about 38% higher than the same span in 2024, setting records for that period.
The net costs to fund $36.2 trillion in national debt were lowered by $740 billion that month. However, total net interest payments so far have increased to $396 billion, lagging behind national defense and health. Social Security and Medicare are the biggest costs of the US budget.
The deficit swelled in the last three years of former President Joe Biden’s term, growing from $1.38 trillion to $1.83 trillion.
Trump has set his priorities in place after taking office in government finances. Since taking over, he has created the so-called government efficiency department led by Elon Musk. In addition to early retirement incentives, the advisory board is at the forefront of recruitment across multiple departments. A Treasury spokesman said he has not yet had a clear impact from Doge’s efforts, but he has introduced further comments to the Musk-led panel.
At the same time, Trump wants to take the lead during his first administration and extend the tax cuts and employment laws. Trump is promoting the growth that tax cuts bring, but several think tanks say they will add $3.3 trillion to the deficit over the next decade by updating the law.
