Federal Monthly Deficit Jumps 562 Percent as Biden’s Student Relief Costs Hit

US President Joe Biden speaks about student debt relief at Delaware State University in Dover, Delaware, on Oct. 21, 2022. Oliver Contreras/AFP via Getty Images

The Treasury Department said Friday that the monthly federal deficit in September was over 500 percent higher than in the comparable month last year, with the unusually large jump due to President Joe Biden’s student debt relief costs being booked in one fell swoop.

The federal agency said in a statement (pdf) that the monthly deficit in September 2021 was $64.9 billion.