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...

The changes made to President Donald Trump's big tax bill in the Senate would pile trillions onto the nation's debt load while resulting in even steeper losses in health care coverage, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a new analysis, adding to the challenges for Republicans as they try to muscle the bill to passage. The CBO estimates the Senate bill would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion from 2025 to 2034, a nearly $1 trillion increase over the House-passed bill, which CBO has projected would add $2.4 to the debt over a decade.The analysis also found that...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed on Friday a budget that pares back a number of progressive priorities, including a landmark health care expansion for low-income adult illegal immigrants, to close a $12 billion deficit. It’s the third year in a row the nation’s most populous state has been forced to slash funding or stop some of the programs championed by Democratic leaders. Lawmakers passed the budget earlier in the day following an agreement of a $321 billion spending plan between Newsom and Democratic leaders. But the whole budget will be void if lawmakers don’t send him legislation to make it...

I don't know how 'official' this site is, but if you follow U.S. Debt Clock.org, we should hit $37 trillion in the national debt sometime after 9:00 pm Eastern Time (if my math is correct, which I wouldn't count on..). If you are the kind of person who likes to watch the odometer in your car turn over, this could be a real treat. Of course, the reality is that we are governed by feckless idiots who have seemingly abandoned all fiscal reponsibility. So, this is really a monument to their uselessness.

How did we arrive at a point in this country where 25% of all tax revenue goes to just paying the interest in $37 trillion in govt debt? Annually: US govt total reveneue = about $5 trillion ...

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene vows to oppose the One Big Beautiful Bill when it returns to the House if there are no changes made to the artificial intelligence provision. Greene says she was unaware of the AI provision when she first voted for the bill and now argues it would endanger state rights, risk job losses in her manufacturing-heavy district, and open the door to forced property seizures. Facing criticism for missing the provision, Greene defended her transparency, claiming no other lawmakers publicly flagged the AI clause and pledging to fight any future legislation that limits state authority over AI...

SUMMARY * Weekly jobless claims increase 8,000 to 247,000 * Continuing claims fall 3,000 to 1.904 million * Trade deficit shrinks by a record 55.5% to $61.6 billion The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased to a seven-month high last week, pointing to softening labor market conditions amid mounting economic headwinds from tariffs. The report from the Labor Department on Thursday also continued to show workers losing their jobs having a tough time landing new opportunities as uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump's aggressive trade policy leaves employers reluctant to increase headcount. Economists said technical difficulties...

Smart people can be really dumb. Sometimes it’s preferable to just be brilliant, rather than genius. For the majority of us in the middle of the Bell Curve, being smart-enough is sufficient to be commonsense conservatives. Elon Musk is in the genius category, and comes with some of the hazards associated with a high IQ. Indeed, he is capable of stupidity, sometimes in business (Tesla Cybertruck “Armour glass” demonstration and overpaying for Twitter, are just two examples). And sometimes in politics, as evidenced by calling the big, beautiful bill (BBB) a “pork-filled, disgusting abomination.” As stark as that criticism is,...

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday said Elon Musk’s sharp criticism of President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” was “flat wrong,” but that he did not take it personally. Musk on Tuesday torched the GOP spending package on X, calling it “a disgusting abomination,” which the speaker said was a complete 180 from what he had indicated in private just a day earlier. Johnson and other House Republicans spoke to reporters Wednesday morning on Capitol Hill, where they addressed a variety of topics, including the future of the spending bill. “I consider Elon a friend,” Johnson told reporters. “It’s curious to...

CBO projects $3T added to debt from bill that tackles tax policy, border security, healthcare reforms President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" is projected to increase the debt by $3 trillion, with interest, or $5 trillion if made permanent, according to estimates. An estimate of the House-passed bill by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects it would add more than $2.4 trillion to primary deficits before interest over 10 years, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), a nonprofit public policy organization. As of Wednesday, the national debt, which measures what the U.S. owes its creditors,...

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...

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...

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...

"Im sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore...This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination...Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it."

Paul said he refuses to support "maintaining Biden spending levels," and Musk said the Trump-backed tax bill is "a disgusting abomination."The intra-Republican fight over the future of a major tax and borrowing bill intensified on Tuesday, as President Donald Trump lashed out and former White House favorite Elon Musk offered a sharp criticism of the proposal. The whole thing played out, as today's political dramas so often do, in a series of posts on social media. Trump slammed Sen. Rand Paul (R–Ky.) in a Tuesday morning post on Truth Social that accused the senator of having "very little understanding" of...

@elonmusk I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it

Days after attacking a megabill that advances President Donald Trump's legislative agenda, Elon Musk slammed it again on Tuesday calling it a "disgusting abomination" in a post on X."I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination," Musk wrote of the House-passed bill. "Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it."Musk followed up with another post claiming the bill "will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt."

Tech mogul Elon Musk went on a tirade Tuesday against President Trump’s marquee One Big Beautiful Bill Act days after leaving the administration — ripping the legislation as an “abomination” and condemning lawmakers who supported it. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” the Tesla and SpaceX CEO wrote on his X platform. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.” Musk had previously dropped hints of his disdain for the megabill, politely telling “CBS Sunday Morning” in an interview...

President Trump rounded on Sen. Rand Paul Tuesday over the Republican lawmaker’s opposition to the House-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act due to its impact on the debt. “Rand votes NO on everything, but never has any practical or constructive ideas,” Trump groused on Truth Social. “His ideas are actually crazy (losers!). The people of Kentucky can’t stand him. This is a BIG GROWTH BILL!” In an earlier post, Trump, 78, had complained that Paul “has very little understanding of the BBB, especially the tremendous GROWTH that is coming. He loves voting ‘NO’ on everything, he thinks it’s good politics,...

The House Freedom Caucus on Monday called on Speaker Mike Johnson to “immediately” bring the first round of DOGE cut requests to a floor vote for “swift passage.” The White House’s $9.4 billion rescissions package, which is expected to land in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, slashes funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). “When the White House submits its first rescissions package to enact DOGE spending cuts to Congress, the House of Representatives should immediately move this to the floor for swift passage,” the caucus said in a...