The federal government has run a $711 billion deficit over the last three months of 2024, the Treasury Department reported Tuesday, underscoring the worsening budget picture that President Biden will turn over to President-elect Donald Trump.
Uncle Sam took in slightly less in taxes, but the bigger problem was spending, which exploded in October, November and December.
Some of that is baked into the cake, as an aging and unhealthy population collects Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
But part of it is a last-minute spending spree by Mr. Biden, who is trying to push money for his big projects out the door before Mr. Trump can jerk the reins.
The Environmental Protection Agency, for example, spent $21 billion more in November and December than it did during those same months the previous year. The EPA was rushing to approve energy efficiency grants for states, tribal governments and nonprofit groups.
Emergency spending responding to Hurricanes Helene and Milton also drove the deficit deeper, according to the analysts at the Congressional Budget Office.
All told, the feds collected $1.083 trillion and spent $1.794 trillion over the last three months, which marked the start of fiscal 2025.
In the previous year, those figures were $1.108 trillion in revenue and $1.618 trillion in spending, leaving a $510 billion deficit for the quarter — $201 billion less than now.
Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid costs combined for an additional $54 billion in higher payments over the last three months, compared to the prior year.
Interest payments on the public debt are also growing, costing $245 billion over those three months — up $24 billion compared to the same time a year earlier.
Mr. Biden has overseen the worst four-year period on record when it comes to raw budget numbers.
The total federal debt stands at $36.2 trillion, and has grown $8.4 trillion on his watch. That tops the record set by Mr. Trump, who oversaw $7.8 trillion in new debt during his first term.
And the government will run trillion-dollar annual deficits for the foreseeable future, according to CBO’s projections.
Mr. Trump has proposed a series of tax cuts that will only deepen that hole — though he’s also assigned Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead his commission, the Department of Government Efficiency, to come up with budget trims.
Mr. Musk recently indicated he hopes they can trim $1 trillion dollars a year in spending.
Mr. Biden’s last-minute spending push includes the Commerce Department, where Secretary Gina Raimondo said she wanted to leave “no cash” for the Trump administration to alter in a microchip spending program.
The department spent $6.5 billion over the last three months, up 93% compared to the same period in 2023.
The EPA’s spending was up more than 600% compared to 2023, driven largely by the green energy grants.
Congressional Republicans have complained about the rush of spending, calling on the Biden team to shut off the spigot to give Mr. Trump a chance to assess where things stand.
Among the other big spenders was Homeland Security, whose spending rose more than 40% in late 2024, compared to 2023; the Labor Department, which saw a 43% increase; and the Interior Department, which saw a 35% hike.
The big trimmers were the General Services Administration, which acts as the government’s chief landlord, and the Small Business Administration.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.