US deficit projected to hit $2 trillion, double fiscal target

(The Center Square) – The federal government is projected to post a $2 trillion deficit in fiscal year 2026, double the 3% of GDP target that has bipartisan support in Congress, according to Treasury's quarterly refunding documents. The $2 trillion figure in fiscal year 2026 is up from $1.7 trillion last year. The Office of Management and Budget projects a deficit of $2.065 trillion, primary dealers surveyed by Treasury projected a median of $1.950 trillion and the Congressional Budget Office's February 2026 baseline projected $1.853 trillion. Will McBride, the Tax Foundation's chief economist, said the numbers show Congress isn't taking action to address financial warnings about the U.S. debt. "It indicates Congress and the administration are still ignoring the dangers of an unsustainable debt trajectory and actively making it worse rather than addressing it," McBride told The Center Square. "The effect is to make a crisis more likely to