U.S.TOP STORY

US budget deficit hits $1.99 trillion for fiscal 2026

The Treasury says it is the third-highest deficit in American history, behind only twenty twenty and twenty twenty-one; the government has run one for twenty-five straight years.

On air: Chip Darnell and Hank Ledger on Meet the Pressure
Published 10:11 AM ET, Sunday, October 18, 2026

Photo: 颐园居 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0

▶ As it aired · U.S.

Watch it as it aired: Chip Darnell and Hank Ledger on this story, from Meet the Pressure at 10:11 AM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are Newsmax's, the jokes are ours.

Photo: United States Department of the Treasury — Photo: 颐园居 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

First reported by Newsmax: “US Budget Deficit Surges to Nearly $2 Trillion as Spending, Interest Payments Soar”.
Covered on BBN on Sunday, October 18, 2026, at 10:11 AM ET on Meet the Pressure, by Chip Darnell and Hank Ledger.
Topics: US.

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

NewsmaxUS Budget Deficit Surges to Nearly $2 Trillion as Spending, Interest Payments Soar

What BBN said about it

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe federal government closed fiscal year twenty twenty-six with a deficit of one point nine nine trillion dollars, about twelve percent higher than the year before, according to the Treasury Department.
Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorTwenty-five years in a row, Hank, and that's real consistency! The last time Washington came out ahead was two thousand one.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorSpending rose to seven point four trillion dollars, and receipts rose to five point four trillion. That gap is the deficit.
Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorSo who's keeping the receipt?
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorNobody, Chip. Last year the government spent more than a trillion dollars just on interest, which was more than it spent on defense.
Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorA trillion on interest and no one even got a toaster for it!
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorBrock, bring us weather that costs nothing, because the government is out.

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