Despite high-profile proposals to reduce spending and the establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), federal outlays have risen by 8.7% when comparing the period since President Trump took office to the same timeframe in 2024.
The largest contributors to the increase are long-standing mandatory programs: Social Security, Medicare and other social insurance benefits. Rising interest costs on the federal debt have also added significantly to the total, amplifying overall spending even where discretionary programs have been constrained.
Some departments have recorded lower expenditures. For example, the Department of Education and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) show declines in spending during this interval. However, these reductions are relatively small compared with growth in entitlement programs and interest expenses, which together account for the bulk of the increase.
Legal challenges have further limited the reach of proposed budget cuts. Court orders in several cases have temporarily blocked reductions, slowing the implementation of proposed savings and reducing the near-term ability of DOGE to reshape federal spending patterns.
In short, while targeted agency cuts and efficiency initiatives have been advanced, they have not been sufficient to counterbalance expansion in mandatory benefits and the growing cost of servicing the national debt. That combination explains why overall federal spending has moved up despite the administration’s stated goals of tighter fiscal control.