In the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, which ended on New Year's Eve, the federal government spent $1,827,134,000,000 – and, according to the Treasury Department, ran a deficit of $602,376,000,000.

The federal debt closed the calendar year at $38,514,009,184,232.72. That equaled approximately $285,733 for each of the 134,790,000 households there were in the United States in 2025, according to the Census Bureau.

What did Congress do when it came back from its Christmas break? It passed a spending bill full of earmarks.

On Jan. 8, the Republican-controlled House took up a 407-page spending bill. It funded multiple federal departments and agencies, including the departments of Commerce, Justice, Energy and the Interior, and also the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil works projects, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Forest Service and the Indian Health Service.

In total, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill authorized $215,073,000,000 in spending.

Large bipartisan coalitions in both houses supported this spending. In the House, it passed 397-28 – with 206 Democratic supporters and 191 Republicans. On Jan. 15, it passed 82-15 in the Senate – with 46 Republican supporters........

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