US Government Starts Fiscal Year 2025 With $257 Billion Budget Deficit

October’s federal shortfall is up by 289 percent from the same time last year.

The national debt clock at a bus station in Washington on Aug. 6, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The U.S. government kicked off fiscal year 2025 with a $257 billion budget deficit, according to the monthly Treasury statement for October.

Last month’s shortfall represented an approximate 289 percent increase from a year ago. It also was worse than the consensus estimate of $211 billion.