Public Trust Tracker

PRM-018 · Promise · Prices & economy

Cut the federal budget every year

Stalled

Promised as a candidate on 2024. Last checked 19 Oct 2026.

“Instead of growing the size and scope of the federal government, every single year we've been doing that, we will shrink it each year with aggressive cost reduction targets for each federal department.”

Donald Trump, 2024, Campaign statement (original linked)

What happened

Spending rose to $7.4 trillion and the deficit grew by about $200 billion in fiscal 2026.

Federal deficit

$1.8 trillionFY2025 → $2.0 trillionFY2026

Source: CBO

Sources

  1. Original statement
  2. CBO Monthly Budget Review, Sep 2026 (Oct 8)
  3. American Action Forum
  4. PolitiFact promise page

Cite this promise

Public Trust Tracker. "Cut the federal budget every year" (PRM-018). Last checked 19 Oct 2026. https://publictrusttracker.org/promise/prm-018-cut-the-federal-budget-every-year/

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