CBO Estimates $1.2 Trillion Deficit for First Half of FY 2026

The United States borrowed $1.2 trillion in the first six months of Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, including $163 billion in March, according to the latest Monthly Budget Review from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:

Today’s budget numbers from CBO remind us of something we all know well now: we’re borrowing at an unsustainable pace, and that borrowing is only accelerating in this uncertain world. We’re just halfway through the fiscal year, and we’ve already racked up $1.2 trillion in borrowing, with $163 billion in March alone. We’re on track to borrow nearly $2 trillion for the full fiscal year.

Last week, the President released his budget request, and it was completely silent on how to handle this situation. Both Congress and the President continue to ignore the urgent need to get our borrowing under control. As lawmakers consider the budget process for the upcoming fiscal year, we hope that they come up with plans to reduce deficits from the too-high 6% of GDP to a more sustainable 3% of GDP; secure our nation’s ailing trust funds for Social Security, Medicare, and highways; and ultimately fix the broken process that got us into this mess. 

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For more information, please contact Matt Klucher, Assistant Director for Media Relations, at klucher@crfb.org.