President Joe Biden made deficit reduction a top priority in his election year budget request, promising $1 trillion in savings over the next decade.
That pivot comes after Biden’s first year in office saw a pricey pandemic relief package shower U.S. households with cash, stimulating consumer demand and ultimately helping to stoke the inflation Democrats are now trying to tamp down ahead of the midterms.
“The deficit went up every year under my predecessor,” Biden said upon introducing his budget on March 28. “My administration is turning that around.”
