President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders in Congress agreed on Monday to a two-year budget plan which will increase spending in 2020 and 2021, and allow the national debt to go up for a two year period, while including little in the way of budget savings, continuing a trend of higher government spending and larger deficits under the Trump Administration.
"If this deal passes, President Trump will have increased discretionary spending by as much as 22 percent over his first term, and enshrine trillion-dollar deficits into law," said Maya MacGuineas, head of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, who labeled the deal a 'total abdication of fiscal responsibility.'
The agreement includes only $77.4 billion in budget offsets to pay for an estimated $320 billion in extra spending over two years.
While the President tweeted his support, joined by Congressional leaders in both parties, a handful of lawmakers said the deal made no sense, because it guaranteed more deficit spending.
With the White House already forecasting deficits above $1 trillion for the next four years, this agreement would do nothing to ease that tide of red ink, which had dropped to $438 billion in 2015 - but has steadily increased over the past three years.
"With more than $22 trillion in debt, we simply cannot afford deals like this one," said Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), the head of the conservative Republican Study Committee.
"It’s not too late to reject the Pelosi-Mnuchin spending deal and strike a better deal for all Americans that cuts spending," argued Jessica Anderson, a former Trump budget official.
But those voices have faded into the wilderness in recent years in the GOP, as deficits have steadily increased under President Trump.
“It’s pretty clear that both houses of Congress and both parties have become big spenders, and Congress is no longer concerned about the extent of the budget deficits or the debt they add,” said the Club For Growth, which has seen its influence on Capitol Hill dwindle in recent years.
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