President Donald Trump’s first year of his second, nonconsecutive term brought all sorts of changes. His administration shuttered the United States Agency for International Development, had the government acquire stakes in Nvidia and several other corporations, and dispatched the National Guard to patrol Washington, D.C., and other major cities, to cite only a few examples.

One big thing that has not changed is the dismal state of the federal budget. America had a $1.8 trillion deficit in 2025, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Federal receipts rose $317 billion, from $4.9 trillion to $5.2 trillion in 2024. The CBO attributes $269 billion of those dollars to an increase in income and payroll taxes, such as Social Security, being paid. Money from tariffs added $118 billion…. (Read more)