Trump and Biden: Partisan Breakdown of New Debt

In their time in office, both former President Trump and President Biden approved trillions of dollars in new ten-year borrowing both for COVID-related policies and outside of COVID. In past analyses, we have looked at how much total new ten-year debt they each approved; how much they approved in tax and spending changes; how much the debt grew during their tenures in office; how much of their policies were from executive actions as opposed to legislation; and the timing of their approved debt increases. Here we analyze what changes were made on a partisan or bipartisan basis.

In this piece we show:

• Of the $8.4 trillion of new net ten-year debt President Trump approved, 23 percent was from partisan actions and 77 percent was bipartisan.
• Of the $4.3 trillion of new net ten-year debt President Biden approved in his first three and a half years in office, 71 percent was from partisan actions and 29 percent was bipartisan.
• Excluding the CARES Act, American Rescue Plan, and other legislation commonly described as COVID relief, 39 percent of the new net ten-year debt President Trump approved was partisan, while 61 percent bipartisan; 43 percent of the new net ten-year debt President Biden approved was partisan, while 57 percent was bipartisan.
• All the COVID-related legislation signed by President Trump was bipartisan (0 percent partisan), while the one major COVID-related law signed by President Biden was done so on a partisan basis (100 percent partisan).
• Looking only at deficit-increasing actions, 26 percent of the $2.3 trillion in gross new debt approved by President Trump was partisan while 74 percent was bipartisan; 55 percent of the $3.4 trillion of gross new debt approved by President Biden was partisan while 45 percent was bipartisan.
• Looking only at deficit-reducing actions, 100 percent of the of the $443 billion of deficit reduction approved by President Trump approved was partisan, and 0 percent was bipartisan; 20 percent of the $1.9 trillion of deficit reduction approved by President Biden was partisan, while 80 percent was bipartisan.

Trump and Biden: Partisan Breakdown of New Debt (Ten-Year Impact)
Total Debt (Net)
Partisan	22% (+$1.9T)	71% (+$3.0T)
Bipartisan	78% (+$6.5T)	29% (+$1.3T)
Total	+$8.4T	+$4.3T
Non-COVID Debt
Partisan	39% (+$1.9T)	43% (+$1.0T)
Bipartisan	61% (+$2.9T)	57% (+$1.3T)
Total	+$4.8T	+$2.2T
COVID-Related Debt
Partisan	0% ($0)	100% (+$2.1T)
Bipartisan	100% (+$3.6T)	0% ($0)
Total	+$3.6T	+$2.1T
Gross Debt Increases
Partisan	26% (+$2.3T)	55% (+$3.4T)
Bipartisan	74% (+$6.5T)	45% (+$2.8T)
Total	+$8.8T	+$6.2T
Gross Debt Reduction
Partisan	100% (-$0.4)	19% (-$0.4T)
Bipartisan	0% ($0)	81% (-$1.5T)
Total	-$0.4T	-$1.9T

US Budget Watch 2024 is a project of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget designed to educate the public on the fiscal impact of presidential candidates’ proposals and platforms. Throughout the election, we will issue policy explainers, fact checks, budget scores, and other analyses. We do not support or oppose any candidate for public office.

On net, 22 percent ($1.9 trillion) of the ten-year debt President Trump approved was on a partisan basis and 78 percent ($6.5 trillion) was bipartisan, while 71 percent ($3.0 trillion) of the debt President Biden has approved so far was on a partisan basis and 29 percent ($1.3 trillion) was bipartisan. Of non-COVID related changes, 39 percent ($1.9 trillion) of debt approved by President Trump was partisan, while 43 percent ($1.0 trillion) of the debt approved by President Biden was partisan.

Major COVID-related legislation like the CARES Act, meanwhile, was enacted entirely on a bipartisan basis under President Trump, while the COVID-related legislation under President Biden – the American Rescue Plan – was enacted on a partisan basis.

Of the $8.8 trillion of deficit-increasing policies approved by President Trump, 26 percent ($2.3 trillion) was from partisan actions while 74 percent ($6.5 trillion) was bipartisan. Partisan actions include $1.9 trillion from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and $456 billion from executive actions (which are partisan by nature). 

Bipartisan legislation under President Trump includes $3.6 trillion of COVID relief, $2.1 trillion from the Bipartisan Budget Acts of 2018 and 2019, and $0.8 trillion from all other legislation.

Of the $6.2 trillion of deficit-increasing policies approved by President Biden in his first three and a half years in office, 55 percent ($3.4 trillion) was from partisan actions while 45 percent ($2.8 trillion) was bipartisan. Partisan actions include $2.1 trillion of new borrowing as a result of the American Rescue Plan and $1.3 trillion of deficit-increasing executive actions – especially related to student debt (this excludes the broad debt cancellation ruled illegal by the Supreme Court and new debt cancellation proposals that have been announced but not yet finalized).

Bipartisan legislation under President Biden includes $1.4 trillion of new ten-year borrowing from the Fiscal Year 2022 and 2023 appropriations bills, over half a trillion dollars from the Honoring Our PACT Act, and nearly $1 trillion more of borrowing from the bipartisan infrastructure law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and other bills.

Of the $0.4 trillion of deficit reduction approved by President Trump, 100 percent came from partisan policies, and specifically they came from increases in tariffs from executive actions. 

Of the $1.9 trillion of deficit reduction approved by President Biden, 20 percent ($0.4 trillion) came from partisan actions, including the Inflation Reduction Act (as originally scored) and executive actions changing the way Medicare Advantage payments are made. The remaining 80 percent ($1.5 trillion) of deficit reduction was bipartisan coming from the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

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Throughout the 2024 presidential election cycle, US Budget Watch 2024 will bring information and accountability to the campaign by analyzing candidates’ proposals, fact-checking their claims, and scoring the fiscal cost of their agendas. 

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