Budget

Why a Shutdown Really Could Happen Right Before Christmas

By Yuval Rosenberg

Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are scheduled to meet with President Trump on Tuesday to resume negotiations over funding for a border wall with Mexico. The talks will set the stage...
Trump Suddenly Wants Billions More for Defense: Report

By Michael Rainey

President Trump will request $750 billion for the next Pentagon budget, reversing course on possible defense cuts he discussed just a few weeks ago, Politico’s Wesley Morgan reported Sunday. Top...
How Congress Got So Broken

By Yuval Rosenberg

More than 50 House members chose not to seek re-election in 2018, and a new report from nonprofit groups Issue One and the R Street Institute examines what drove so many to that decision. The report...
Larry Kudlow Still Insists Tax Cuts Will Pay for Themselves, Deficits Will Fall 'a Lot'

By Yuval Rosenberg

Isn’t it time to admit that the tax cuts are not going to pay for themselves? Larry Kudlow, the director of President Trump’s National Economic Council, was asked that question Friday morning on CNBC...
How Much Would a Federal Jobs Guarantee Cost?

By Michael Rainey

One of the more provocative ideas being kicked around on the progressive left these days is a federal jobs guarantee. Proponents say that too many American workers have been left behind in an...

Shutdown Watch: Congress Passes Stopgap Deal, Postponing Wall Fight

By Yuval Rosenberg

The House and Senate on Thursday passed a two-week extension of government funding via voice votes, pushing the deadline in the ongoing fight over money for President Trump’s border wall until...
Shutdown Watch: Will Trump Play the Grinch This Christmas?

By Yuval Rosenberg

Lawmakers agreed on Monday to a two-week extension of government funding, pushing off the deadline for a partial government shutdown and an ongoing fight over money for President Trump’s proposed...
No, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, a $21 Trillion Pentagon Accounting Error Can’t Pay for Medicare for All

By The Fiscal Times Staff

Newly elected representative and social media lightning rod Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) sparked a round of controversy this weekend when she compared the potential cost of Medicare for All to the...
Congress Nears Deal Pushing Shutdown Deadline to Just Before Christmas

By Michael Rainey

Congress and the White House are working on a deal for a two-week extension of government funding that would push the deadline for a fight over a possible government shutdown and money for President...
Trump, After Boosting Military Budget, Calls It ‘Crazy!’

By Yuval Rosenberg

Although he has repeatedly hailed the deal he made earlier this year to increase spending on what he called a “depleted” military, President Trump on Monday declared on Twitter that U.S. defense...

Why the Midterms Could Kill Trump's Space Force

By Michael Rainey

The fate of President Trump’s new military branch could depend on the outcomes of the midterm elections, says Joe Gould of Defense News. The Pentagon is working on a plan to create the Space Force,...
Pentagon’s Revolving Door in Full Swing

By Michael Rainey

The steady stream of top military officials moving from the Pentagon to defense contractors shows no signs of slowing down, according to a new report from the Project on Government Oversight (POGO),...
How Congress Got So Broken

By Yuval Rosenberg

The founders of the United States envisioned Congress as a co-equal branch of government, but that model of government “is effectively dead,” a new analysis by The Washington Post and ProPublica...
Visualizing the ‘Great Decoupling’

By Michael Rainey

The Washington Post’s Catherine Rampell asked economist and data visualization specialist Jonathan Schwabish of the Urban Institute to create a chart that shows how unusual the large and growing...
As Deficit Soars, Trump Advisers Focus on Discretionary Spending Cuts

By Yuval Rosenberg

National Security Adviser John Bolton, speaking Wednesday at an event hosted by the Alexander Hamilton Society in Washington, warned that the national debt is a societal threat with security...