'Starve the beast': The $40tn cost of Republicans' false promises to cut spending

Source Summary

The article examines how US government debt has reached $40 trillion, up from approximately $35 trillion when Trump took office less than two years ago. It attributes this increase to Trump administration policies including tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court that required returning tens of billions to importers, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency which reduced federal programs without closing the budget deficit, and inflation following Trump's Iran policy. The article argues that the US's large debt is the product of a longstanding Republican strategy called 'starve the beast' that predates Trump.