A new analysis reveals that fiscal policies under the Trump administration have significantly outpaced those of President Biden in adding to the national deficit.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a Washington-based think tank, reports that former President Trump borrowed $8.4 trillion during his tenure, compared to the $4.3 trillion borrowed under Mr. Biden.
Even when excluding pandemic relief measures enacted by both administrations, the debt addition remains disproportionate. Trump accrued $4.8 trillion in non-pandemic-related debt, while Biden added $2.2 trillion.
The primary drivers of Mr. Trump’s debt increase include the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, changes to the Affordable Care Act, and budgetary acts from 2018 and 2019. In contrast, Mr. Biden’s non-pandemic-related debt mainly stems from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, student debt relief measures, appropriations bills, and various executive actions.
The CRFB highlights a distinct difference in how each party contributes to the national debt. Republicans typically add to the debt through bipartisan legislation, whereas Democrats often do so through executive actions. Specifically, 77% of the Trump administration’s debt came from bipartisan legislation, while only 23% resulted from unilateral actions.
For the Biden administration, the figures are reversed, with 71% of debt additions coming from executive actions and just 29% from bipartisan laws.
Both presidents initially governed with their parties controlling both chambers of Congress, which changed when the House flipped during the midterm elections in each of their terms. The Biden administration has faced intensified budgetary pressures as the deficit surged following pandemic-related fiscal measures.
The U.S. debt saw a dramatic increase of over $3 trillion between the first and second quarters of 2020, continuing to rise more sharply in recent years than in the pre-pandemic era. Currently, the total national debt stands at approximately $34.5 trillion. As a percentage of gross domestic product, U.S. debt has stabilized around 120%, up from 100% before 2020.
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