If there’s one thing budget committees like, it’s foresight on government spending. However, the second Trump administration has yet to share its plans for expenditure in the coming fiscal year: With deficits notching higher, economists are urging the White House to take a more transparent approach.
By law, the White House should have submitted its budget proposal for fiscal year 2027 (starting in October) yesterday. The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 requires budgets to be submitted on the first Monday in February, though delays are accepted in transitional years between administrations, and 2026 is not one of them.
The delayed filing is adding to concerns about how seriously the White House is taking America’s fiscal situation: Uncle Sam has borrowed more than $38.5 trillion, and the government ran a deficit of $1.78 trillion for fiscal year 2025, which ended in September. President Trump isn’t alone in missing the deadline: No president has submitted a budget on time since 2015.
Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), is concerned that, despite President Trump being in office for more than a year, no fiscal plan or priorities have been shared. She said in a statement: “If you don’t budget, you can’t govern … When the president does release his budget, it should include an actionable plan for getting our nation’s finances on sustainable footing.”
