From Publius Papers. Congress is still out this week, with no votes scheduled, so today we're looking at the federal budget's final numbers for the year that ended Sept. 30. The deficit came in at $1.99 trillion, up $217 billion from 2025, and interest on the national debt topped $1 trillion. Below: where the money went, the two bills still waiting on the President, and what's next.
1. The 2026 deficit: $1.99 trillion
The numbers: The Treasury Department's Monthly Treasury Statement, the government's official monthly accounting of what it takes in and spends, shows the federal government spent $7.40 trillion in fiscal year 2026 (Oct. 1, 2025, to Sept. 30, 2026) and took in $5.40 trillion. The gap, the deficit, was $1.99 trillion. That's $217 billion more than the $1.78 trillion deficit in 2025. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Congress's nonpartisan budget scorekeeper, reached nearly the same figure in its own estimate on Oct. 8.
How it compares: It's the largest deficit since 2021, though well below the pandemic-relief years of 2020 ($3.13 trillion) and 2021 ($2.77 trillion). Ten years ago, in 2016, it was $0.59 trillion.
Who it affects: Everyone, over time. When the government borrows, it pays interest on that debt, and those payments compete with every other line in the budget.
2. Interest on the debt passed $1 trillion
The numbers: Net interest, what the government pays to borrow after subtracting interest it earns, was $1.05 trillion in 2026, up $81 billion from 2025. That's more than the $965 billion spent on national defense and close to the $1.07 trillion spent on Medicare. Only Social Security, at $1.67 trillion, cost clearly more.
On the revenue side: Individual income taxes brought in $2.85 trillion, up $190 billion. Corporate income taxes fell to $381 billion from $452 billion, and customs duties, the taxes on imports, came to $173 billion, down from $195 billion in 2025.
3. Still on the President's desk
Two bills presented to the President on Oct 26 are still waiting, according to Congress.gov as of this morning:
The President has until Friday, Nov. 6, to sign or veto them.
Quick list
No new bills since last week: Congress.gov shows no new bill actions since Oct 26, and no votes were taken.
Still waiting to be sent: The Common Cents Act (H.R. 10167), which would end penny production for circulation, passed the Senate on Sept 28 but hasn't been presented to the President yet.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3: See who represents you and who funds their campaigns on My ballot, using Federal Election Commission data.
What's next
Tuesday, Nov. 3: Election Day.
Friday, Nov. 6: The President's deadline to act on H.R. 8205 and H.R. 1744.
Mid-November: Treasury's first monthly statement for fiscal year 2027 (October). We'll chart it on our deficit page.
Get our charts daily: follow @PubliusPapersHQ on X
Thanks for reading.
The Publius Papers team
Data: U.S. Treasury, Monthly Treasury Statement for September 2026 (Tables 1 and 9), via the Treasury Fiscal Data API, retrieved Oct 18, 2026. CBO, Monthly Budget Review: September 2026 (Oct. 8, 2026). Bill status is from the Congress.gov API (Library of Congress), pulled Oct 29, 2026.