Trump said he'd reduce federal spending. It's gotten worse. | Opinion

• The national debt reached $38 trillion in October 2025, following the fastest accumulation of $1 trillion since the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is projected to add $3.4 trillion to the national debt.
• While taxes have been cut for wealthy Americans, inflation and a decrease in job openings are impacting the average worker.

President Donald Trump ascended to office by promising to save the U.S. economy, saying that his business sensibilities were going to solve the national debt and put more money in people’s pockets. This turned out to be laughably, demonstrably false.

All it seems his administration has done is fail when it comes to fiscal matters. And unlike delicious, cost-effective avocado toast that allegedly drains millennials of their finances, it seems the Trump administration's frivolous spending ultimately hurts more people than it helps.

When Congress ended a government shutdown on Feb. 3 after Democrats objected to actions by immigration enforcement agencies, House Speaker Mike Johnson noted that the resistance from the opposition party was moot. That's because Republican lawmakers had already given the Department of Homeland Security $190 billion over four years in 2025’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act – including a $75 billion supplemental budget just for Immigration and Customs Enforcement – enough to hold ICE over while legislators argued over containing it.

That doesn't signal controlled spending. In fact, Trump's agenda seems to be making the national debt worse. In October, The Associated Press reported that the country was now $38 trillion in debt after the fastest accumulation of $1 trillion since the COVID-19 pandemic.

This recent funding news got me thinking about Trump’s decades-long promise to “drain the swamp” and fix government bloat. Between an influx of funding for agencies that serve the president’s interests and cuts to departments that will ultimately cost taxpayers later on, it's clear Republicans have no interest in curbing spending.

Trump's misuse of public money is for cruelty

Our tax dollars aren’t just being used to fund cruelty – they’re being used to fund idiocy.

The aforementioned Big Beautiful Bill – now law – is projected to add $3.4 trillion to the already gargantuan national debt, all while decimating Medicaid access and gutting federal agencies.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) didn’t live up to its name, only saving approximately $1.4 billion, according to Politico, and ultimately costing the U.S. government thanks to lawsuits.

All of this is happening in tandem with a dire affordability crisis in the United States, in part thanks to the tariffs Trump has implemented. While taxes have been slashed for the richest Americans, inflation means that the everyday worker can’t afford groceries.

Want to get a job that pays better? Too bad – job openings are at the lowest they've been since September 2020.

It all just seems so antithetical to what Republicans claim they believe. Things are getting more expensive for the average American, while our tax dollars are being used to fund the worst that bureaucracy has to offer. Even as a progressive who believes in a large social safety net, it just seems to completely contradict what Republicans claim they stand for. As of late, it seems the only thing they stand for is using ICE to terrorize the country and attacking trans kids.

What Democrats can do to counter Republican waste?

I understand that part of living in the United States is funding things you fundamentally disagree with. The military industrial complex is a monstrous drain on taxpayers, but I’m not going to commit tax fraud just to prove a point.

It just seems like Republicans are giving the Trump administration a blank check to inflict new horrors at home and abroad, despite endless campaign promises to avoid just that. Saying one thing and doing another is the GOP’s modus operandi at this point, but it’s still incredibly frustrating to watch as a party that says it wants to end corruption go on to fund the most corrupt parts of our government.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, said in January remarks to the National Press Club in Washington, DC, that Democrats need to “read the room” and start focusing on the economy ahead. She’s got a point.

After all, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani ran and won on a campaign that centered on affordability. Taylor Rehmet, the Texas Democrat who just surged to victory in a huge upset for the state Senate, said running on affordability was part of the reason he won.

But Democrats need to talk about both the affordability of everyday life and how our hard-earned tax dollars are being spent to further Trump’s nefarious agenda.

The state of the country's finances seems more dire than any of us would like to admit. Perhaps it's time for Democrats to shift the messaging, and time for the Republican Party to stop listening to a man who made more than $1.4 billion in 2025 while the average American struggled to make ends meet.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on Bluesky:  @sarapequeno.bsky.social