“Mark Zuckerberg said he is considering leaving California if it passes a measure that would impose a one-time, 5% tax on billionaires,” Bloomberg reports.
The Bill for Trumpism Comes Due
David Frum: “The budget deficit for the fiscal year that ended on September 30 is about $2 trillion, or about $160 billion more than in Joe Biden’s last complete year as president. Next year’s deficit is likely to be even bigger. When Trump spoke of eliminating the national debt, total debt stood at nearly $35 trillion. On the current trajectory, total debt could reach $45 trillion by 2028.”
“To put that another way: The U.S. debt reached $10 trillion for the first time during the financial crisis of 2008. That once seemed a crushing burden. Now an extra $10 trillion in debt is the cost of just four years of Trump’s fiscal recklessness.”
Ken Griffin Says Republicans Erred in Cutting Taxes
“Billionaire Ken Griffin said Republicans in Congress and President Donald Trump made a mistake by cutting taxes even further last year,” Bloomberg reports.
Said Griffin: “We didn’t have the fiscal space to renew the tax cuts. Republicans have their hands dirty over the tax cuts the last two years.”
The U.S. Budget Deficit Is Ballooning
“The U.S. budget deficit is ballooning, reaching $2 trillion this fiscal year, according to the latest figures,” Axios reports.
“That’s the largest deficit since 2021, when the U.S. was climbing out of the pandemic recession.”
“The deficit is being driven in part by the cost of servicing the nation’s enormous debt at a time when interest rates are rising due, in part, to the inflationary impact of the Iran war.”
How a Wealth Tax Fight Made Brin a Political Force
“Sergey Brin once called government a ‘giant bonfire of partisanship’ and spent years on the political sidelines. But in recent months, the Google co-founder has emerged as a political force in California, pouring unprecedented sums into the fight to defeat a proposed tax on billionaires,” Politico reports.
“This year alone, Brin has spent about 40 times what he put into politics in the previous two decades, making him the biggest individual donor to a ballot measure campaign in California history.”
“His roughly $100 million effort to defeat Proposition 40, a proposed one-time 5% tax on billionaires’ assets, is the centerpiece of a new political operation that reaches well beyond the measure.”
The Billionaire Tax Isn’t Breaking Through
“A proposed tax on billionaires remains short of majority support as Californians begin casting ballots,” according to a new Citrin-Politico poll.
“Likely voters are essentially where they were a month ago, the survey found, with 46% in favor of Proposition 40 and 43% opposed — despite a recent push by backers of the measure, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), to rally support for the one-time, 5% tax on billionaires’ assets.”
Trump’s Golf Empire Is a Billion-Dollar Tax Shelter
Forbes: “For decades, the president has claimed charitable deductions on golf courses he never gave away. Now, facing one of the most significant tax bills of his life, he’s pushing the scheme even further—and appears to be using the presidency to get away with it.”
Elon Musk Says ‘AI and Robots’ Will Need to Fix Deficit
“Elon Musk tells biographer Walter Isaacson in a new podcast interview that the fizzled DOGE experiment, which the SpaceX and Tesla CEO once headed, proved there’s ‘no way we were gonna solve the deficit from within the government,'” Axios reports.
Said Musk: “The only way we’re going to solve the national debt is with AI and robots. We’re not gonna solve it by trying to save our way there.”
U.S. Budget Deficit Nears $2 Trillion
“The United States budget deficit approached $2 trillion in the 2026 fiscal year, its highest level since the pandemic, as spending on the military, safety net programs and interest on the debt dwarfed the Trump administration’s cost cuts, Treasury Department figures showed on Friday,” the New York Times reports.
“The widening gap between what the government spends and what it collects in taxes and other revenue comes at a critical moment. Investors are nervous about America’s surging debt load, along with stubborn inflation, and have driven up borrowing costs.”
How Trump’s Megabill May Be Affecting You Right Now
“When Republicans ask voters to keep them in the majority, they frequently point to the most significant policy achievement of Trump 2.0 — the tax and spending cuts bill known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” CNN reports.
“Among the main selling points Republican candidates cite are popular cuts to taxes on tips and overtime, things that have a populist appeal, although many of the tax savings are more likely to benefit wealthier Americans.”
“But the law offsets tax cut provisions by slashing federal funding for many programs that help make up the social safety net in the U.S. which means fewer Americans are getting aid from the government to afford food or obtain health insurance.”
IRS Delays Release of Data Showing Impact of Tax Cuts
“The Trump administration is delaying the release of detailed data showing how Republicans’ 2025 tax cuts affected millions of Americans’ taxes, even as it tries to sell voters on the law ahead of the midterm elections,” Politico reports.
“The numbers document which tax breaks were claimed by people in different income brackets, as well as information like how much they paid in taxes.”
Federal Contract Spending Set to Hit Record
“Federal procurement spending is projected to cross the $1 trillion threshold for the first time, driven by President Donald Trump’s focus on national security and immigration enforcement, according to a Bloomberg Government analysis,” Bloomberg Government reports.
“The record spending via federal contracts in fiscal 2026 reflects the steep cost of the administration’s priorities, and stands out after the now-dormant Department of Government Efficiency sought to slash government programs after Trump returned to office.”
What Might Russ Vought’s ‘Tremendous’ Surprise Be?
Wall Street Journal: “Whether it would come before the midterms (an ‘October Surprise‘) or after (a ‘November Surprise’) is unclear.”
“But President Trump has hinted strongly that there’s a big announcement coming very soon from his budget director, Russell Vought.”
“With a $7.4 trillion budget, $2 trillion deficit, and $40 trillion in debt, any meaningful announcement—in order to make a dent—is going to have to be gargantuan.”
Moderate Democrats Propose Banning Pocket Rescissions
“Moderate Democrats want Congress to wrest back some control over government spending from the president,” the Washington Sun reports.
“Their proposal: a major overhaul of the budget process that would impose new limitations on the White House.”
“A new bill introduced on Friday by the Blue Dog Coalition would end pocket rescissions, the process through which President Donald Trump rescinded more than $800 million in already appropriated funds.”
U.S. Budget Deficit Jumps to Nearly $2 Trillion
“The U.S. budget deficit climbed to nearly $2 trillion in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, according to the Congressional Budget Office, deepening the federal government’s persistent red-ink trend,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Many Provisions of the Big Beautiful Bill Haven’t Kicked In
“Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act has some provisions that have proved popular, like no tax on tips, tax cuts and childhood investment accounts,” the Washington Post reports.
“But it also has several controversial elements: cuts and new rules that haven’t come into effect yet — things like Medicaid work requirements and reduced federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), that are scheduled to begin right when the new Congress starts in 2027.”
Democratic lawmakers have said that’s no coincidence.
Said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA): “The worst is yet to come. The way Republicans structured the bill made it so the Medicaid cuts won’t kick in until after the November midterm elections.”
Lawmakers Slam Trump’s Move to Cancel Funding
“Lawmakers in both parties blasted a plan by President Donald Trump to claw back more than $800 million in congressionally approved spending across the government, saying the president had no right to defy Congress in how he directs federal funding,” the Washington Post reports.
“The White House late Friday said it was taking a legally contested move to cut funding at federal agencies for a range of programs that direct government services toward immigrants, minority groups, climate change programs and other issues. It was the latest bid by the Trump administration to assert sweeping control over the government and to trim congressional powers.”
NBC News: Lawmakers slam Trump’s “unlawful” move to cut $810 million in federal funds.
Susan Collins Slams Trump Admin Over ‘Illegal Actions’
“Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) accused President Donald Trump’s administration of taking ‘illegal actions’ Friday after it moved to cancel $810 million in congressionally approved funding without lawmakers’ consent,” Mediaite reports.
“The White House announced the sweeping cuts also on Friday as a ‘pocket rescission,’ targeting funding across several federal agencies that it characterized as wasteful or harmful spending.”
Politico: Trump declares $1B canceled in “pocket rescission” in another affront to Congress’ funding power.
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Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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