Cbo Projects U.s. Debt To Grow 23.9 Trillion In 10 Years, Not Including Costs Of Extending Tax Cuts

The national debt is slated to rise by 23.9 trillion over the next decade, a sum that does not include trillions of dollars in additional tax cuts being championed by President-elect Donald Trump .

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released its 10-year budget outlook on Friday that showed a slightly brighter picture as higher taxable incomes will relieve some pressure on the rising national debt. Still, annual budget deficits are expected to be equal to 6.1 of U.S. gross domestic product in 2035, which the CBO noted is 'significantly more than the 3.8 percent that deficits have averaged over the past 50 years."

The analysis paints a difficult picture for an incoming Republican administration bent on cutting taxes in ways that further widen deficits unless they're also paired with major spending cuts. Trump's proposed extension of his 2017 tax cuts that are set to expire after this year along with new cuts could easily exceed 4 trillion and his nominee to be treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, warned Thursday that the economy could crash without them.

"We do not have a revenue problem in the U.S.," Bessent insisted at his confirmation hearings . "We have a spending problem."

The CBO numbers suggest more bluntly that there is a persistent and possibly worsening gap between the taxes that Americans are willing to pay and the services they expect government to provide. The CBO noted that cumulative deficits from 2025-2034 would be smaller by 1 trillion relative to its June forecast, largely because the amount of taxable income is expected to increase.