Budget bill piles on debt Trump vowed to erase

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump promised during his campaign that if he won the White House, he would wipe out the national debt in eight years.

But in his 2½ years in office, he has gone in the opposite direction.

Trump on Friday signed into law a budget bill hammered out with leaders of the Democratic-led House and the Republican-controlled Senate. It was a rare bipartisan agreement, but some in the GOP were furious.

The legislation will add an estimated $1.7 trillion to the national debt in the next decade, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

When other bills that Trump has signed are factored in, Trump’s total contribution to the national debt is projected to top $4.1 trillion, the budget watchdog group said.

“Our national debt is a self-inflicted wound,” said Maya MacGuineas, the group’s president. “It will take the kind of leadership that currently doesn’t exist in Washington to fix.”

A spokesman for the White House Office of Management and Budget defended Trump’s fiscal record.

“Washington has a spending problem and President Trump has committed to using every tool at his disposal to help get our fiscal house back in order,” spokesman Jacob Wood said. “This can be seen through the many actions he’s taken: balanced budgets, rescissions package and even deregulation efforts.

“This administration will continue to find areas where we can cut federal spending to ensure we provide relief to future generations of Americans. We encourage Congress to do the same.”

The national debt already has grown at a fast clip; as of Friday, it stood at $22.55 trillion.

For Americans, the debt should be a concern, experts said, because it can push up interest rates for consumers and businesses. Under the agreement, negotiated by the White House and congressional Democrats, spending will jump by 21% during Trump’s four-year term, adding $1.7 trillion to the projected debt, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said.

Trump was elected in part because he promised to get the nation’s finances in order and eliminate the national debt. But Thursday, just a few hours before the Senate voted 67-28 to give final approval to the new budget agreement, Trump took to Twitter and praised the spending package.

“Budget Deal is phenomenal for our Great Military, our Vets, and Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!” he wrote. “Two year deal gets us past the Election. Go for it Republicans, there is always plenty of time to CUT!”