Report: Federal debt increased by twice the amount under Trump

Former President Donald Trump approved nearly double the amount of federal borrowing in his four years in office that President Joe Biden has so far in his first term. A large percentage of Trump’s federal borrowing came from his tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, according to a report published by the Committee for a Responsible Budget on June 24.

Trump approved $8.4 trillion in new borrowing, while Biden has thus far approved $4.3 trillion in new borrowing, according to CFRB’s report. 

Trump’s record on the national debt is a far cry from his promise during the 2016 presidential campaign to balance the federal budget and eliminate the national debt if given two terms in office. 

A large chunk of the borrowing both men approved was related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump approved $3.6 trillion in borrowing for COVID relief, while Biden approved $2.1 trillion. Both figures included economic relief checks for American taxpayers as well as funding for COVID mitigation efforts and relief for state and local governments.

However, Trump’s signature legislative achievement in office — the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 — added $1.9 trillion to the national debt. That law largely amounted to a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans, who received an average annual tax cut of $60,000, while the bottom 60% of earners received an average of less than $500 in annual tax cuts, according to a CFRB report from earlier in June. 

Only one action Trump took reduced the national debt, the CFRB found: In 2018, he imposed tariffs on washing machines, solar panels, and steel and aluminum products imported into the United States. The CFRB said those tariffs will generate $440 billion in revenue and interest over the next decade.

Biden, meanwhile, approved new borrowing for infrastructure projects, the expansion of veterans health care and disability benefits, and student debt relief.

Biden’s 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a signature legislative achievement that provided funding to repair American bridges, roads, public transit systems, water infrastructure, and broadband service, added $439 billion in new borrowing, according to the CFRB report. 

Biden also signed the Honoring Our PACT Act of 2022, which increased health care benefits for veterans suffering from the effects of exposure to toxic burn pits. That law added $520 billion in borrowing.

Biden also signed three pieces of legislation that reduced the national debt.

In 2023, Biden signed the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which raised the federal debt limit but also reduced discretionary spending that it is estimated will lead to a $1.5 trillion deficit reduction over 10 years, the CFRB reported.

Biden also signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which expanded health care subsidies, created prescription drug reforms to reduce drug prices, and expanded tax credits to help encourage people to buy more energy- and climate-efficient products. That bill was paid for by creating a tax on stock buybacks — in which companies purchase outstanding shares in the company itself in order to drive up their stock prices — which is predicted to reduce the debt by $252 billion over the next 10 years.