“We were having extraordinary growth. We were creating growth that would pay down the debt over time.”

— Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin …

We engaged in a long back-and-forth via email with a treasury official. First of all, apparently Mnuchin was referring to the predicted ratio of debt to the GDP, not an actual reduction in the debt. “It is extremely rare for actual debt levels to be reduced outright,” the official said. “There have only been a handful of quarters in which debt levels have gone down outright, and those are often due to quirks around issuance schedules and Treasury cash management.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/09/09/mnunchins-claim-pre-covid-economy-would-pay-down-debt-over-time/

The federal budget deficit hit an unprecedented $3 trillion in August, with another month to go before the end of the fiscal year, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

That figure amounts to $1.9 trillion more than the same period last year, and more than double the largest yearlong deficit on record, the CBO noted on Tuesday.

The difference comes almost entirely from increased federal spending due to the coronavirus pandemic, with revenues down just 1 percent but spending up 46 percent compared to the same period last year.

The U.S. has thus far thrown $6 trillion in relief spending at the coronavirus crisis, only half of which was covered by tax revenues and other receipts.

The Treasury Department is expected to publish the official deficit tally for August later in the week.

The CBO has estimated that the deficit for the full fiscal year ending this month will amount to $3.3 trillion, continuing to add to the nation’s growing debt. 09/08/20 https://thehill.com/policy/finance/515582-us-budget-deficit-hits-record-3-trillion-cbo