Regardless of Trump’s promised cuts, U.S. spent about $220 billion extra in first 100 days than final 12 months

Regardless of guarantees to chop spending in the course of the marketing campaign and his first few months in workplace, President Trump‘s federal authorities has spent about $220 billion extra in his first 100 days in comparison with the identical time interval final 12 months.

In actual fact, the federal government is now spending extra, everyday, than was spent in 9 of the final 10 years. The exception: 2021, when the federal government was spending trillions to combat the coronavirus pandemic and forestall an financial catastrophe.

CBS Information analyzed the Treasury Division’s day by day monetary studies to trace the cash flowing out of each authorities account every day since Mr. Trump returned to workplace. This is a breakdown of what we discovered.

Some would possibly ask how that is doable given the high-profile repeated bulletins of layoffs, canceled contracts, claims of fraud elimination by Mr. Trump and the Elon Musk-led Division of Authorities Effectivity and belt-tightening throughout the administration.

The reply partly lies within the fundamentals of the federal government’s funds in terms of big-ticket expenditures that the White Home cannot totally management or huge adjustments to the best way the U.S. pays for getting older Individuals’ retirements and medical care.

The remainder of the reply is politics. The conservative base that elected Mr. Trump and the Republican majorities in Congress could not assist chopping the opposite largest share of federal spending, the operations of the U.S. army and caring for veterans.

Check out a number of the areas representing the biggest spending and largest will increase in Mr. Trump’s first 100 days in comparison with the identical time interval in prior years.

In keeping with our evaluation of the Treasury Division’s day by day studies on accounts, most of the largest persistently rising prices are direct funds to the army and seniors.

The federal authorities’s behavior of spending extra money than it takes in means the nationwide debt is rising. Paired with greater rates of interest, the day by day price ticket of paying the curiosity on the debt is skyrocketing. The quantity during the last three months is about double the quantity paid out simply three years earlier.

And the day by day funds on bonds and different securities that present up within the Treasury Every day Assertion cowl solely money curiosity paid to public debt holders. There are different components of the federal government’s debt obligations that solely add to the associated fee.

A technique the Trump administration can impression the funds is thru the civilian workforce, and that is been a focus of Musk and DOGE by way of layoffs and buyouts. However lots of these makes an attempt are dealing with authorized challenges which have delayed or reversed firings.

Regardless of the introduced workers reductions, one of many largest areas of the rising spending at first of Mr. Trump’s second time period stays federal salaries. Employees got a 2% increase when then-President Biden signed an government order two days earlier than Christmas, a transfer allowed due to Congress’ inaction on everlasting federal budgets.

Mixed, it is the army and veterans, Social Safety, Medicare, Medicaid and debt funds driving the lion’s share of federal spending during the last decade. Within the final full fiscal 12 months, they accounted for practically two-thirds of federal authorities outlays. That breakdown has barely modified during the last decade.

The overwhelming majority of the tried chopping thus far by DOGE has been outdoors these areas, targeted on smaller targets that may show common with President Trump’s political base, corresponding to overseas assist, the Schooling Division and grants to schools and universities.

“If the financial savings are relatively small and the ache is excessive, DOGE goes to be a legal responsibility,” stated Nat Malkus, a senior fellow on the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute, who has been monitoring DOGE’s work.

“In the event you actually need to lower federal spending, you are going to have to chop into the packages the place the lion’s share of the cash is. That is Medicare and Medicaid, Social Safety and we spend some huge cash on curiosity,” Malkus stated.

There are some vital one-year spending reductions in some businesses and spending classes. 

This is a have a look at a number of the largest reductions since Mr. Trump took workplace.

“The fiscal 12 months ends September 30. There’s nonetheless much more 12 months left so let’s have a look at the place we’re on the finish of the 12 months,” stated Stephen Miller, the White Home Deputy Chief of Employees for Coverage.

A have a look at DOGE cuts marketed

Musk’s DOGE crew has targeted its consideration on many smaller spenders amongst federal packages.

DOGE’s web site claims the duty pressure has already saved that a lot, at $160 billion, between canceling grants, contracts and leases and making cuts to the federal workforce. On its “wall of receipts” website on-line, the workplace studies the biggest reductions thus far come from the Division of Well being and Human Providers, Common Providers Administration, Division of Schooling, Division of Labor and Workplace of Personnel Administration.

Solely about $60 billion, or lower than 40%, of that alleged financial savings are itemized on the workplace’s on-line “wall of receipts” and even these itemizations have included errors and lax documentation.

In his work on the American Enterprise Institute, Malkus stated his assessment signifies the financial savings is extra more likely to be round $80 billion.

Even the $160 billion marketed as saved thus far by DOGE can be tiny within the context of the bigger federal funds and nationwide debt.

The administration has already spent about $220 billion greater than final 12 months in just a little over three months, in line with CBS Information’ evaluation of Treasury studies.

The marketed financial savings represents lower than 2% of a full 12 months’s nationwide funds. That is akin to a household with $10,000 in month-to-month spending trimming its payments by $200 a month.

The supporters of the administration’s cost-cutting efforts have characterised it as essential to root out fraud and waste and to take a chew out of the nationwide debt. Nonetheless, the Treasury Division studies that debt stands at $36 trillion as of this week.

The $160 billion marketed DOGE financial savings is about 0.5% of the debt, so the discount from DOGE’s efforts can be like a household with $10,000 in bank card balances paying it down by $50.

An unbiased evaluation by the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan nonprofit that research the federal workforce, additionally reported just lately that the disruptions attributable to the DOGE cuts could have price taxpayers $135 million.

Musk just lately stated his work with DOGE is winding down.

Discover the spending particulars your self

You possibly can discover the federal government’s day by day account ledgers for your self. We have remoted the cash spent by class within the first few months of the Trump administration in comparison with the identical time interval in every of the final 10 years.

You possibly can seek for businesses or spending classes beneath to see the change over time and the way a lot or much less is being spent throughout this primary 100 days of the Trump administration. We have restricted the desk to businesses and classes with a minimum of $100 million in spending since Jan. 20, 2025.

contributed to this report.