ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the Trump presidency and the first years of the Biden administration. During the Trump presidency, the introduction of new tax cuts and a lack of spending restraint led to significant increases in the debt. With the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the passage of some $3 trillion in relief bills forced the debt above 100 percent of GDP for the first time since 1946. Under President Biden, pandemic spending continued with the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 followed by the passage of the Infrastructure and Jobs Act. While efforts to pass a multi-trillion dollar Build Back Better Act failed over concerns over growing inflation, Congress passed a scaled-down version, and the administration announced a new policy of student debt forgiveness, all of which would lead to projections of historically unprecedented increases in the debt-to-GDP ratio.
