US debt could explode above 200% of GDP in two decades if Trump's tax cuts become permanent, CBO says — putting it at unsustainable levels

(Credit: Jemal Countess—Getty Images for the Peter G. Peterson Foundation)

• The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated what the impact would be if the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was made permanent. It found that US debt held by the public could soar above 200% of GDP by 2047 and 250% by 2054, assuming the higher debt burden also puts more upward pressure on borrowing costs.

Making President Donald Trump's tax cuts permanent would send US debt held by the public above 200% of GDP in a few decades, according to a new estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.