Taxes & Budget
Coverage of the national budget and your taxes.
Trump administration boosts spending on school meals to improve child nutrition
As children return to school across the U.S., the Trump administration is spending $25 million on farm-to-school grants and $70 million for schools to upgrade their cafeterias to cook nutritious meals.
Trade war escalates after U.S.-Canada negotiations collapse
President Trump on Sunday weighed in on failed trade talks between the United States and Canada, signaling in an angry, 1 a.m. message on social media that he’s not backing down on the terms that Canadian negotiators walked out on.
Trump signs marble slab as part of new White House helipad
President Trump on Wednesday signed a marble piece that will be part of the new South Lawn helipad he says will be operational this month.
Why does the Pentagon want to funnel government loans through private investment funds?
Questions are mounting about a new Pentagon plan to funnel government loans, potentially worth billions of dollars, through private investment fund managers to companies promising to deliver the critical materials needed for missiles, aircraft and other advanced military technology.
Retail sales unexpectedly fall in July as government tax refunds fade
Shoppers unexpectedly cut their spending in July as a boost from government tax refunds faded.
Illinois gas station sells sole winning ticket for $1 billion Powerball jackpot
A Powerball ticket sold at a gas station in western Illinois was the sole winner of the $1 billion jackpot, ending a three-month drought without a top-prize victor.
Tax hawks warn farm bill threatens to raise price at the pump
Americans for Tax Reform calculated that the Agricultural Act provision allowing for year-round high-ethanol gasoline would increase fuel costs for Americans.
DOGE exaggerated its savings; GAO audit questions 96% of Musk office’s claims
President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency made grand claims about the savings it earned taxpayers — but much of those never came to pass.
Trump touts tax cuts, winning economy in Las Vegas, but it’s hard to shake Americans’ money woes
President Trump on Wednesday told a crowd in a casino ballroom that his policies are putting money in their pockets, a message intended for a larger audience of midterm election voters who are dissatisfied with the economy.
Social Security insolvency, automatic benefit cuts draw near as lawmakers butt heads
Staring down Social Security’s looming insolvency, senators found Wednesday they’re miles apart when it comes to answers.
Senate advances government funding stopgap in early effort to head off shutdown
The Senate on Monday advanced a stopgap government funding bill, an early start to a bipartisan effort to avoid a shutdown this fall ahead of the midterm election.
Senate to vote on stopgap bill to keep government open through Dec. 11
The Senate is set to take a test vote Monday on a stopgap appropriations bill that will keep the government open through Dec. 11. The measure, released Sunday evening, has bipartisan support and is expected to earn more than the 60 votes needed to overcome any filibuster.
Trump appeals court ruling blocking IRS settlement
President Trump and his sons said Friday they are appealing a court decision that blocked the deal he reached with his own administration settling his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS.
White House officials pitch skeptical Senate GOP on $95 billion budget bill
Top White House officials visited Capitol Hill on Wednesday to convince hesitant Senate Republicans to back the House’s $95 billion plan for a filibuster-proof budget reconciliation package and to kickstart the process before leaving for August recess.
SNAP’s fraud problem meets a slow fix: Chip cards arrive state by state
Vulnerable food stamp recipients are finding their cards empty due to hidden “skimming” devices that criminals plant on ordinary card readers, turning government assistance into a $1 billion-a-year ruse.
Senate seeks return to bipartisanship with government funding stopgap, sanctions bill
The Senate is aiming to spend its final two weeks before a monthlong summer recess showing bipartisanship still exists.
Trump slaps new tariffs on 60 trading partners, backfilling blanket tariffs Congress let expire
The Trump administration announced Thursday that it will impose tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on imports from 60 countries that failed to enforce bans on goods produced with forced labor.
Cato Institute flags risks as wealth-tax proposals gain steam in U.S., abroad
A libertarian think tank is raising fresh concerns about the renewed push for wealth taxes on the ultra-rich, arguing that countries that tried them mostly backed away — and for reasons policymakers should remember.