Free Republic

Budget deficits are something we’ve come to expect from Uncle Sam. After all, without years of overspending, the federal government wouldn’t be sitting on trillions of dollars in debt. But, the latest monthly Treasury statement delivered a rare — and welcome — surprise. In April 2025, the U.S. government collected $850.2 billion in receipts while spending $591.8 billion, resulting in a monthly budget surplus of $258.4 billion. That’s not just any surplus — it’s the first monthly surplus of fiscal year 2025 (which began in October 2024), and the second-largest monthly surplus in U.S. history, behind only April 2022’s $308.2...

219 ayes (all but one Republicans), 213 nays (all Democrats + one Republican)

President Donald Trump shared on Wednesday that he wants the debt limit “scrapped,” which Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has also called for. Trump issued a statement on Truth Social Wednesday afternoon. “I am very pleased to announce that, after all of these years, I agree with Senator Elizabeth Warren on SOMETHING. The Debt Limit should be entirely scrapped to prevent an Economic catastrophe,” he wrote. “It is too devastating to be put in the hands of political people that may want to use it despite the horrendous effect it could have on our Country and, indirectly, even the World,” he...

President Trump on Wednesday doubled down on calls to scrap the nation’s debt ceiling, pressing for bipartisan action to abolish it and finding common ground with Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.). “I am very pleased to announce that, after all of these years, I agree with Senator Elizabeth Warren on SOMETHING. The Debt Limit should be entirely scrapped to prevent an Economic catastrophe. It is too devastating to be put in the hands of political people that may want to use it despite the horrendous effect it could have on our Country and, indirectly, even the World. As to Senator...

Elon Musk has warned "if the massive deficit spending continues," there will be no money for Social Security, health care or defense, as he continues opposition to President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill." The tech billionaire and former head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) made the comment about Trump's spending package on his Truth Social website in the early hours of June 4. Newsweek contacted Musk for comment via the SpaceX and Tesla press offices outside of regular office hours on Wednesday. Why It Matters The House narrowly passed Trump's budget package on May 22 in a 215-214...

Buffett had largely avoided commenting on politics during the afternoon part of the annual meetings Q&A and seemed reluctant to directly address a question on what he thought about Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s efforts to cut government spending through the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. What Buffett did say was Congress isn’t doing its job to reduce the fiscal deficit. “We are doing something that is unsustainable,” he said. Buffett said the gap between revenue and spending was about twice as large as what can be maintained and that the more the gap widens, the more risk of it...

U.S. economy is resting atop a public debt exceeding $34 trillion, with its debt-to-GDP ratio sitting at around 120%. Perhaps not the blessing the Founding Fathers had once envisioned. Now, alarm bells are beginning to ring with increasing frequency and volume. Jamie Dimon says Washington is facing a global market "rebellion" because of the tab it is racking up, while Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan believes it's time to stop admiring the problem and instead do something about it.. The Black Swan author Nassim Taleb says the economy is in a "death spiral", while Fed chairman Jerome Powell says...

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said that out-of-control spending in Washington that keeps adding to the growing pile of U.S. government debt threatens to trigger a reckoning in the form of a market “rebellion.” Mr. Dimon made the remarks while speaking on a panel at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington last week alongside former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), a self-proclaimed deficit hawk. At one point in the discussion, Mr. Ryan said that the “most predictable crisis we’ve ever had” is the looming debt spiral as the U.S. government faces increasing levels of indebtedness, threatening America’s ability to pay...